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By Christen M. Stroh

South Hills Interfaith Ministries rebranded itself to become South Hills Interfaith Movement this past February, and the response – much like the organization itself – has been phenomenal.

James Guffey, Executive Director of SHIM

Executive Director James Guffey indicated that the community reaction has been twofold, stating, “First, the organization has received a lot of general publicity, which has allowed us to help even more and more people in need. But more importantly, [the rebranding] has helped to address a stigma by educating people about suburban poverty.”

Guffey explained that poverty is oftentimes not associated with the suburbs – that the misconception is that people who choose to live in more affluent communities must themselves have a certain degree of affluence as well. In reality, the South Hills harbors more than 4,000 community members who fall into the category of being impoverished.

While the acronym – SHIM – remains the same, and the mission of SHIM is still to provide food, clothing and services to people in need in Pittsburgh’s southern suburban neighborhoods, as they’ve been doing for the past five decades, the idea behind making the name reflect that providing aid is a movement allows for a shift in how the community will respond when seeking to help others. SHIM is hoping that others looking to help will take a more all-inclusive approach to serving those in need.

Guffey used the example of an onion to demonstrate how a holistic approach to servicing those in need would work. “It’s like peeling back an onion and looking at the different layers,” he explained. “We look at where they’re at, and how we can help them holistically.”

The concept of helping out individuals holistically means that a teaming approach is taken. An individual coming to a food bank, for example, may be in need of more than just food. “People who are food-insecure are the people who come to the food banks, but their need oftentimes doesn’t start or stop there,” said Guffey, who said they work with individuals to make sure they are signed up for resources like SNAP for nutrition and CHIP for children’s health insurance, and also work to provide services such as résumé reviews to get people who are able to work in a better position to take on employment.

Guffey started at South Hills Interface Ministry in October 2006. By August 2007, he’d transitioned from the role he was hired in – the director of development and public relations – into the role as executive director. As someone who’s been with SHIM for a decade, he’s invested in its success, stating, “Number one, I live in the South Hills. This is my neighborhood and I’m invested in its development. And number two, I live in the South Hills. There are necessary means available from a lot of financially stable communities who can help out – and want to help out – their neighbors in need.”

Guffey’s proud of everything the past decade has brought forth for SHIM in terms of growth, expansion, and doing good in the community. Two more recent initiatives are the Sack Hunger Campaign, which has just wrapped up its third year in operation, and the opening of a food pantry in Baldwin – and more is planned for the rest of 2016. “We’ve done a lot of great work and have served a lot of great people,” he said, “and we still have a lot of work ahead of us.”

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