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Community Corner

MUST Ministries' CEO: "The need continues to outstrip the means to meet it"

Rev. John Moeller explains to Smyrna Golden K Kiwanis members on Tuesday how the faith-based community outreach non-profit organization is forming partnerships with other service groups and local churches.

Rev. John Moeller, CEO of MUST Ministries, challenged members to rethink homelessness at their meeting Tuesday morning.

“Before I came to MUST, the homeless, I had a picture in my mind of who they were,” he said. “Maybe you have that picture in your mind, but let me tell you, that picture is a 1,000 little pieces. It’s disintegrated and I see people today who are on the edge who look like you and me. Life is fragile.”

MUST Ministries is a faith-based community outreach non-profit organization based in Marietta. Although its headquarters is in Marietta, MUST does work throughout the Metro Atlanta area and has a satellite office in Smyrna. Moeller has been CEO since 2001.

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MUST Ministries operates several homeless shelters in Cobb, Cherokee and Douglas counties, but its focus isn't just on the homeless. It also runs three service centers in Marietta, Smyrna and Cherokee that provide food, clothing and employment assistance to impoverished citizens. They also sponsor a variety of seasonal programs including Holiday Meals, Summer Lunch Program and Christmas Toyshop.

MUST Ministries has been helping the needy in Metro Atlanta since 1971. Moeller attributes the success of the organization to volunteers.

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“What MUST figured out a long time ago is we can’t do everything,” he said. “So let’s find good partners who’ll work with us.”

As MUST Ministries neared its 40th birthday, Moeller feared the organization wasn’t doing enough.

“The need continues to expand and MUST has been on the march,” Moeller said. “We’ve always been on the march. For 40 years we’ve been on the march, but I’ll tell you I’ve been worried that we’re falling behind. The need continues to outstrip the means to meet it.”

Moeller’s solution was to implement a 10-year-plan that included forming partnerships with other service groups in the community like Kiwanis Clubs, Rotary Clubs and local churches.

“How are we going to continue to meet the need?” Moeller asked. “We’re going to partner. We’re going to partner with your churches that you belong to, with your companies and we’re going to operate in their facilities. We’re piloting this across the community right now.”

One example is the partnership MUST Ministries implemented with Kennesaw State University’s nursing school. In 2010 MUST expanded its health clinic in Marietta and staffed it with nursing students from KSU.

“So we raised the money and we built it out to their specifications and today their nurses are working in that space, training young nurses, new nurses, giving them real world experience and the community is the beneficiary—partnerships,” he said.

Today the clinic provides primary care, disease prevention and health education to the needy of Metro Atlanta. It also serves a learning lab for nursing students.

See here more information on MUST Ministries.

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