FORGOTTEN
TEMPLE OF THE
STREET CHAPLAINCY
Spiritual Care
Where It’s Needed Most
Why Presence Changes Everything
Street Chaplaincy offers what many systems can’t: consistent, compassionate presence.
For people who have experienced abandonment, trauma, and stigma, this kind of care restores a sense of dignity, connection, and belonging.
It's not about fixing. It’s about walking alongside.
The Heart of the Work
Street Chaplaincy is spiritual care offered where it’s least expected: on sidewalks, in jail cells, shelters, encampments, and transitional spaces.
It’s rooted in radical compassion, sacred listening, and the belief that everyone is worthy of love, no matter their circumstances.
Every Street Chaplain brings their own gifts, but all are called to serve with humility, courage, and heart.
What is Street Chaplaincy?
Learn More About Street Chaplaincy
Street Chaplaincy is a form of chaplaincy provided for folks living outside, in county jails, in shelters, in sanctioned encampments/tiny home villages, and formerly unhoused. It is compassionate, respectful, boundaried, loving care.
A Street Chaplain is dedicated to bearing witness to the suffering of the unhoused; they do not fix or change anything physical about their situation. They meet people where they are; they listen and love no matter what; and most importantly, they build healthy, lasting relationships that show people that there is someone who believes in them.
Someone who sees them, and loves them.
The greatest harm to the unhoused population is not the lack of resources, convoluted systems of care or systemic oppression; the greatest harm is the abandonment, hatred and judgment we, the larger community, extend towards them. To leave behind those who are most vulnerable, most unique, most diverse, is to leave behind the heart and soul of the community. It is to leave behind opportunities for profound connection, creativity, and holy presence. A Street Chaplain walks into spaces of great human suffering and reminds those lost in its shadows that they are not only beautiful, but honored and important to the whole of the community.
Every Street Chaplain is different. This particular work calls for great authenticity and a true honing of one's unique skills and gifts. At Temple of the Forgotten, we do try to focus on cultivating multireligious, interfaith, interspiritual care. We support and work with Street Chaplains who are available to provide care for people of any, or no, faith. We believe in connecting with anyone from a place of deep and profound love, the love that unifies all religions.
Street Chaplaincy is a mystical practice. One that shapes and changes the lives of those who choose this is intense, impactful and challenging holy work.