Budapest

In the 22nd district of Budapest, the Baptista Menedék Szolgálat runs a boys’ home, a mother house and the tea club program. The central office, where the foundation is managed and organized, is also in the 22nd district.

The Boys’ Home (hu.: „Fiúotthon”) is a shelter for young men who are in crisis, have a criminal record, are addicted or homeless. Accommodation, cleaning and laundry services are provided, and help is given with food, clothing and hygiene items when needed. Residents are assisted based on an individualized plan of care that is coordinated with them and focuses on continuing education, completing the education they have begun, and employment in order to lay the groundwork for a secure future.

A few streets away is the Mother House (hu.: „Mamásotthon”). The aim of the Mother House is to provide temporary home-like accommodation and care for a mother seeking protection and her child in a family crisis situation. In addition, this is intended to prevent the children from being endangered or to eliminate an already existing endangerment, thus strengthening the family’s ability to bond. Shelters, sanitary facilities, cooking facilities, bedding, washing facilities and textiles are provided. Otherwise, the residents are supported by counseling, psychological and spiritual assistance.

Furthermore, the tea club is held in the Baptist Church in Budafok every Thursday, starting at 05:30 pm. The goal is to reach out to lonely and disoriented people, who mainly live in the institutions as well, and give them a helping hand. The event is open to the public and is not bound to a fixed form. After a short program together, we talk and play over a cup of tea and buttered bread. We get to know the problems and needs of the people involved and together we look for a solution. We try to create an open and inclusive community where everyone can feel welcome.

Menedékváros – Kiskunmajsa

On the site of the former Soviet barracks in Kiskunmajsa, the „Menedékváros” (eng.: city of refuge) was built in 1996, where people who want to „escape” a stressful environment can find help. It is a temporary home for the homeless, single people and families with small children. The „City of Refuge” takes them in when they are in need and offers them the opportunity to find peace and stability and then move on. Together with the people, personalized, individualized care plans are built to ease their transition. Daily counseling, community, faith-based programs and employment help to facilitate a successful exit from the care system.

Two facilities are distinguished in Menedékváros: On the one hand, the emergency shelter for homeless people and the transitional home for families. The Transitional Home for Families is a child protection facility for parents and their children who are without a home, for parents and their children who seek shelter due to a family crisis, and for families with children in social crisis who are temporarily housed until the reasons for housing no longer exist. Shared housing and care in the form of a home-like placement are provided to prevent children from becoming endangered or to eliminate the endangerment that has already occurred, thus strengthening the family’s ability to maintain its assets.

In addition, there is a transitional shelter in Menedékváros, which takes in men and women from all over the country who have become homeless due to crises and difficulties. We provide shelter, cleaning and laundry facilities, as well as clothing and cleaning supplies as needed. We assist our residents based on an individualized plan of care agreed upon with the person we serve. We focus on employment and, in the case of young people, on further education, thus laying the foundations for a secure future.

Moreover, in the Menedékváros soup kitchen, hot lunch is free of charge and breakfast, as well as dinner, are offered at a reduced price.

Our goal is to help people and families to reintegrate into society, who increasingly find themselves in disadvantageous situations and situations that developed due to circumstances or came from their own fault. Our service program of Baptista Menedék Szolgálat is primarily concerned with families with small children and people without shelter, by providing emergency accommodation and by means of various programs or projects we try to give the families and homeless people answers to their problems.

The most important way the service helps people in need is through personal presence: by creating community, common experiences are shared. These experiences help the people staying with us to become more demanding and searching, not only socially, hygienically and morally, but also spiritually and psychologically. We believe in the need to help the „whole person”: In addition to physical help, we offer spiritual care, counseling and can provide real motivation and incentive by setting attractive and achievable goals.

We believe that the Holy Scripture, the Bible, is inspired by God, is perfect and inerrant, and is the supreme authority for us.

We believe that God is the one, eternally living Trinity, consisting of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

We believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ, who was born of the Virgin Mary and was without sin, who worked miracles in his life, died and shed his blood for us.

We believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. He is preparing to come from there to judge the living and the dead.

We believe that the Holy Spirit is still at work today, living in us as Christians and filling us so that we can live a sanctified life.

We believe that every created person in the flesh will be resurrected and judged: Believers who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior will live forever with God, but unbelievers will remain eternally separated from God.

We believe that we are members of Christ’s Church, together with those who are also united with God’s risen and ascended Son. We believe that the universal body of Christ must be manifested in the form of local churches, which play a very important role in God’s plan.

We believe that the primary task of every believer is to go into the world and proclaim the gospel. We believe that the impact of the gospel will lead to the restoration of human relationships and justice in society.

We believe that Christ has commanded every Christian to help his fellow human beings in need, and that it is He who sends to those in need. In this way, they too can experience salvation.