Shelter News #3

As we head into the second half of February we are a week past the halfway mark. These past four weeks have been challenged by weather, mechanical interruptions, and significant increase in guest each night. For the past 10 days there have been 17 - 22 overnight guests each night with 20 or more each of the last five nights. During this time there have been four major snowstorms, two of blizzard or near blizzard category. The blizzard level storms chose to fall on days when the normal daytime sites where guests can stay warm and out of the elements have been closed. Fortunately these were also days when the South Church Youth Center was not scheduled to be in use, so we were able to open the facility for them. This was only possible through the extraordinary efforts of Jim & Ginny making phone and e-mail contact with scores of volunteers to assure there would be two/three volunteers on site at all times, and that the facility was left in "as we found it" condition. A very special thank you to those volunteers for stepping up and taking three hour shifts to allow this to happen. A special thank you also goes to Checkmate Pizza and Constantly Pizza for generously providing free pizzas during the storms, and regularly throughout the shelter season, and during the Super Bowl.

For about a week the shelter was a "men only" activity as renovations of the two bathrooms used by women turned out to be much more extensive than expected leaving the men's bathroom the only one in service. A special thanks to our partner, First Church, for their understanding, and the burden it placed on their ability to accommodate more women than normal. We did lend them air mattresses to accommodate the extra female guests.

South Church's capacity to host guests for a warm, clean, and safe overnight stay goes far beyond making available its downstairs rooms each night. It happens through scores of volunteers showing up each week to welcome the guests, serve as overnight staff, assuring fresh clean bedding each night, baking and delivering fresh food for the evening, dropping off warm bedding and new, used and handmade clothing for the guests, provide transportation to South Church from First, and when feasible, to the Friendly Kitchen in the morning, and assuring the rooms are left in condition for South's other community and church related gatherings and activity.

You are all very special. Thank you,

                               Jay Haines, Director