Now welcoming Pathways to Promise to South Dallas via ZOOM

​BECAUSE OF COVID-19 our Plans for Companionship Training in June 2020 have been altered.  We will be adjusting our Plan to include a model for ZOOM TRAINING, perhaps as early as the Fall of 2020.

Please help us complete our Fair Park Mental Health survey. 

We would like at least 50 responses before we hold another Companionship Training:

http://tinyurl.com/p2pfairparksurvey

Our last in-person Companionship Training was held on

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2019 …  9 AM to 2 PM

Warren United Methodist Church, 3028 Malcolm X Blvd., Dallas, TX

www.mountolivedallas.org/companions

To see what our Registration Form for the Pathways to Promise Companionship Training looked like, click below:

http://tinyurl.com/companionregister

History of COMPANIONSHIP

https://www.theCOMPANIONSHIPmovement.org/

Our model for COMPANIONSHIP was developed in 1987 on the streets of Seattle as a SIDE by SIDE Outreach to people who were homeless and struggling with serious mental health issues. Over the last 30 years, through Mental Health Chaplaincy and Pathways to Promise, COMPANIONSHIP has been expanded throughout the Seattle metropolitan area, St. Louis, Chicago, Los Angeles, Indiana and North Carolina.  Now, this same life changing opportunity has reached South Dallas.

What is  SIDE by SIDE OUTREACH?

Jesus often told parables about COMPANIONSHIP.  Matthew 25.  The Good Samaritan.  Even the Prodigal Son.  Jesus also practiced COMPANIONSHIP with his disciples.  He knew the value of a SIDE by SIDE relationship.

One person …   Walking with one person …

SIDE by SIDE … through …  a moment of vulnerability

can be  … life changing.   Not just for One SIDE.   

But for BOTH SIDES.

How do I Practice COMPANIONSHIP?

COMPANIONSHIP is a ministry of presence, a relationship responding to isolation and suffering, to those in distress, and to those who would benefit from support toward healing and recovery. COMPANIONSHIP welcomes the stranger, building a circle of care with individuals who are facing emotional and mental health challenges.

What are the Five Basic Principles of COMPANIONSHIP?

  1. COMPANIONSHIP is a basic Human Relationship between two equals
  2. COMPANIONSHIP is a Response to Suffering; it is not about “fixing it”
  3. COMPANIONSHIP is a Public Relationship; boundaries are important
  4. COMPANIONSHIP Aims for Mutuality; we can all learn from each other
  5. COMPANIONSHIP recognizes our need for support and for a Circle of Care

How will You Train me to Implement COMPANIONSHIP?

  • The practice of HOSPITALITY approaches another person with respect, honoring the dignity inherent in every human being. Hospitality shares calm, rest and refreshment in an often tense, confusing and traumatic world.
  • The practice of NEIGHBORING invites us to discover what we have in common, to set aside our power and privilege, and meet one another as equals.
  • The practice of SHARING THE JOURNEY positions us SIDE BY SIDE to look out at the world together, acknowledging our different backgrounds and viewpoints, proceeding with integrity, not imposing our priorities.
  • The practice of LISTENING opens us to another’s story, hearing the person’s own account, beginning in the now, exploring gently the past and what the future holds.
  • In the practice of ACCOMPANIMENT, we listen especially for what the person says is their need, support the individual in connecting with community resources and help BUILD a CIRCLE of CARE. The CIRCLE of CARE is one of the most important aspects of COMPANIONSHIP.

COMPANIONSHIP + PLUS is a 3 hour training for 30 people PLUS optional afternoon follow-up small group networking sessions.

COMPANIONSHIP 101 (3 hours) is the BASIC COURSE in the morning and provides an understanding of how to encourage substantive change as we walk SIDE By SIDE with another person in a vulnerable moment. Workshop participants learn how to practice COMPANIONSHIP in all of their relationships, but especially with one other person who needs help accessing available CIRCLE of CARE resources in our South Dallas community.

AAA ADULTS PM (2 hours) applies these skills specifically to ministries to CHILDREN, Youth & Families, especially through the RISE UP Leadership Teambuilding project.  Participants learn what it means to be AAA Adults: Affirming, Authentic, and Available.

CCC COMPANIONS PM (2 hours) applies these skills specifically to ministries with adults, especially those connected to the Mount Olive FOOD PANTRY, or receiving services from other organizations in our community, such as City Square, St. Philip’s, and MLK Community Center.  We learn about CCC COMPANIONSHIP, including Crisis Response, Connecting to Resources, and Christian Caregiving.

COST:  COMPANIONSHIP 101 = $60

(but FULL & partial scholarships are

available; donations are welcome)

AAA or CCC  or Mental Health 101

=  FREE   (with a recommendation

       from any current COMPANION)