A Listening Ministry:  “Tending the Holy with the Homeless”
The Side-By-Side Spiritual Companions ministry is based in a private park designed for the homeless guests of Loaves & Fishes, a homeless services agency in Sacramento, California.  During the day 500 - 1000 homeless men, women and children come in and out of Friendship Park seeking services, hot meals, and a place of safe refuge.  Side-By-Side provides trained listeners who are simply present with our homeless guests.  Sitting on a park bench or in The Listening Space, the companions represent the care and love of God to those who need it most.  Spiritual companions do not proselytize, but gently seek to deepen conversations to what is most real:  the active presence of the Holy.

A Connecting Ministry:  “Connecting the Hearts of the Homeless and the Heart of the Church”
In addition to accompanying people on the margins, Side-By-Side acts as a bridge between traditional faith communities and the poor in their midst.  Side-By-Side’s mission is to break barriers, misconceptions, and fears in order to encourage true community.  We encourage caring people to come and see, spend time with us and open their hearts to God’s reality of community and hope.