Chum's mission: People of faith working together to provide basic necessities, foster stable lives, and organize for a just and compassionate community.

Chum is a non-profit 501 (C)3 organization that serves about 8,000 low-income, homeless, hungry, isolated, and otherwise marginalized community members each year. More than 40 faith-based congregations in Duluth are part of Chum and support our core mission: people of faith working together to provide basic necessities, foster stable lives, and organize for a just and compassionate community. 

Chum operates an Emergency Shelter, Family Shelter, a Drop-in Center with a Health and Wellness Clinic, Winter Warming Center, Food Shelf, as well as offers Street Outreach, and supportive services for people living at the Steve O’Neil Apartments and the St. Francis Apartments who were previously homeless. Chum’s advocacy focuses on policy and systems changes to help improve the lives of people who turn to Chum for services. Chum also provides leadership to Stepping On Up (a collaboration of service agencies) that is working to change Duluth’s response to homelessness. We are committed to providing services in a manner that is informed by historic and contemporary forms of marginalization (such as racism, homophobia, and patriarchy) and relevant to the current issues of increasing mental illness and substance misuse. The Director of Mission Advancement must be attuned to these struggles and able to understand, articulate, and synthesize Chum’s response to these issues.