Snow Day!!!!   Sounds like fun to a kid. But to a homeless person it could be deadly. Did you read the newsletter article about Jason, who was once buried under snow when he was sleeping outside on a couch? See www.franoutreach.org/whatsnew.htm 

Jason, who was once buried under snow while he slept on the streets

What are we doing to help keep our guests safe in this storm? 
 

At Franciscan House of Mary & Joseph shelter...

• For the first time in the 27 year history of the shelter, we are staying open during the day. At noon we had 50 men and 17 women out of a total of 246 persons who elected to stay inside. Most slept in late. For some it was the first time in years that they got to sleep in late. Staying open during the day isn't easy, since we have only a limited number of staff persons who usually work overnight shifts. Fortunately, we have two part time overnight supervisors who don't have work this week and can come in during the day to supervise the guests. The full-time volunteers are also working extra shifts to make sure we can stay open. Crew staff is pitching in as well.  Shelter management has also spent time planning with me about how to host so many people for so long with little space, little staff, and not much for them to do.   
   

• Tomorrow, when we might have 20 inches of snow on the ground, we will also be open during the day. We expect that a lot more people will stay inside. 
   

• A Chicago Department of Family and Support Services van will be at the shelter after our intake closed to pick up any persons we have to turn away because there is no room. The city has opened a temporary shelter in a gymnasium nearby just for the storm. 

At the Marquard Center... 

David (program director), Lorenz (guest), and Stefan (full time volunteer) shoveling snow at the Marquard Center

• Although we don't usually let guests wait in the lobby during the day, we will today and tomorrow. Guests can stay inside until dinner is over. 

• Dinner will be held as usual tonight and tomorrow. Our part time volunteers who live far away have canceled, but Chris has contacted several who live within blocks of the kitchen to see if they can pitch in.  
   

• After dinner, a Chicago DFSS van will be at the Marquard Center to transport any guests who wish to go to the temporary shelter. Many of our guests are street based homeless persons who don't usually go to shelters. David Erickson, our program manager at the Marquard Center, will stay until the guests are picked up.

In the Office...   
 

• While our mission is to keep our guests safe from weather extremes such as this, we also want to keep our staff safe from transportation-related risks. Therefore, we've sent the office staff home early and are giving them a snow day tomorrow. You may be able to reach some of us by telephone here by listening to the message and dialing our extensions. 

• Case management will be closed tomorrow, since there is little they can do when other organizations are closed. We don't expect many guests to make the trek to our offices for routine things. Program staff will take case of any emergency needs our guests have.
   

Thanks to all of our staff who are going above and beyond to make sure our guests are safe. 
 

Please keep the homeless in your prayers, especially those who live on the streets and don't realize the danger they could be in. Thanks to all of you who provide ongoing financial support so that we can keep doing what we do for the homeless of Chicago. 

Diana Faust, SFO

Executive Director