Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association

MIFA's mission is to support the independence of vulnerable seniors and families in crisis through high-impact programs. We believe that no family in crisis should have to make the choice between keeping the lights on and putting food on the table.

Likewise, we also believe that, with the right partnerships and resources in place and a holistic approach to service, senior hunger is a solvable problem. We will continue to pursue our vision of a community where no senior who is homebound is also hungry.

Created in the wake of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination by a group of community and faith leaders, MIFA's vision is to unite the community through service. Our programs provide the opportunity for community members to come together to serve their neighbors.

- Sustain, grow, and innovate MIFA Meals on Wheels
- Customer results and experience at the center
- Refreshed, vital, and healthy culture

Collaboration
At MIFA, we work with a number of area agencies to avoid duplication of services and to ensure that our clients have the best resources available to meet their needs. We work closely with Community Alliance for the Homeless for our homelessness prevention programs; we are active members of the Safety Net Collaborative; we partner with Aging Commission of the Mid-South to provide meals to seniors; we have been in partnership with MLGW since 1982 to administer the Plus-1 program; we employ workers from Meritan; the City of Memphis regularly refers clients to us for assistance; and our emergency assistance programs work within an extensive network of community resources to provide referrals. MIFA was created from collaboration in 1968, and these partnerships and cooperative efforts within our community are still central to our work.

Evaluation
MIFA’s continuous improvement framework was formally established in 2016, built on a foundation of ongoing program data collection and analysis since 2010. Our leadership team meets monthly to review the program and administrative dashboard, analyzing trends and looking ahead to ensure our contract, service, and spending goals are met. As the team has become more comfortable with the process, we are able to approach our services proactively, using demonstrated trends to predict future service needs.

Sustainability
We at MIFA take pride in our ability to efficiently and responsibly leverage public funding with private donations, which we are able to do largely because of our reputation and our impact. We receive annual support from more than 2,000 unique donors, including individuals, corporations, congregations and other faith groups, and foundations, in addition to contributions of time from nearly 1,000 volunteers.

FY21 (July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021)

MIFA’s senior programs are designed to promote independence, health, and dignity. Through daily nutrition and fellowship with volunteers, our programs help seniors continue living in their homes, while advocacy continues to support them when they move to care homes.

- MIFA Meals on Wheels served 533,437 meals to 3,278 seniors; of those clients, 1,829 received home-delivered meals and 1,449 were served at congregate sites. Surveyed clients reported the following: 94.64% eat healthier foods as a result of the program, 92.58% believe the program helps them feel better, and 87.89% believe the program helps them continue living in their own homes
- The Senior Companion program’s 47 volunteers completed 66,123 service hours while serving 78 clients. FY21 is the program’s last year at MIFA.
- The Long-Term Care Ombudsman program’s two staff members and 36 volunteers completed 434 volunteer hours while providing advocacy for the care and dignity of seniors living in local facilities; their work reached 6,092 individuals in the community.

MIFA's family programs provide basic services to prevent homelessness, stabilize families, and encourage independence. We offer a spectrum of personalized interventions designed to address the vulnerabilities that could lead an individual or family to homelessness—interventions ranging from referrals to financial assistance to shelter placement or rapid rehousing.

- Of the 10,499 unduplicated households that requested Emergency Services assistance, 4,138 (representing 4,770 adults and 5,630 children) received utility, rent, or mortgage assistance.
- Of the 6,194 unduplicated households that requested Council Emergency Relief Program (CERP) assistance, 2,595 (representing 4,135 adults and 4,489 children) received utility, rent, or mortgage assistance. MIFA was selected by Memphis City Council to administer $3.5 million in CARES Act funding through this program, which ran from September to December 2020. Funding was available to City of Memphis residents with a documented income loss related to the pandemic.
- Emergency Shelter Placement screened 1,430 unduplicated families for service and referred 287—representing 312 adults and 735 children—to shelters and 330 to rapid rehousing.
- The Rapid Rehousing program connected 91 families representing 100 adults and 161 children with permanent, stable housing.
- The 24-hour Hotline for Homeless Families screened 6,406 calls from an estimated 4,257 callers representing 5,885 adults and 4,092 children.