Preparing for the Winter Homeless Night Shelter

This year the Sacred Heart Church will again be acting as a Tuesday-night host for nine of the 18 weeks that the Winter Homeless Night Shelter will be running.

Eleven churches in Brighton and Hove are participating; five Anglican, two Baptist, two Evangelical Protestant and two Catholic (including Sacred Heart). The Shelter opened on 22^nd November and runs until 27^th March 2015 with a nightly capacity of up to 15 homeless men and women. Three of the largest churches will host all 18 weeks while smaller ones, like Sacred Heart will host nine weeks.  

This the fourth time that we have participated in the Shelter and it has been a huge success, providing warmth, security and good food to the guests, while engendering a wonderful spirit of selflessness and spirit de corps among the volunteers. I’m not particularly psychic but I’m convinced that we have one extra guest each night – the Holy Spirit!  

As Church Coordinators for the Shelter, my wife and I have been very busy over the last two weeks - hence no blogging! – therefore I thought I would make a record of what needed to be done.

·         Early September there arrives the initial email from the Overall Church Coordinator with details of the upcoming shelter, new policies etc.

·         Shortly after, I email all the previous winter’s volunteers to see if they will volunteer again, and I also start putting out feelers in the community for more volunteers.

·         Then, it’s time to review all old and new Brighton & Hove Central Churches policies governing the running of the Shelters, as well as the Volunteer Handbook that is the primary guide for the volunteers.

·         Early November there is a planning meeting with Parish Priest followed by formal weekly status reports during November. There is also a planning meeting with all seven Church Coordinators who are working during the first nine weeks. Patrick, who will lead one of our two teams, is back from holiday in France so we meet to go over plans and draft schedules.  

·         By this time, the emails are fairly busy with traffic from old and new volunteers.

·         Printing takes up some time. There are guides and various forms to be printed, plus 60 copies of the Volunteer Sign-up form, 50 copies of the volunteer handbook (850 pages of printing!). Volunteer forms are then set out in the church porch and the first of several notices prepared for the church newsletter.

·         By now the spreadsheet of volunteer details has started to grow and a very rough schedule of assignments can be prepared. Regular update emails have to be sent to volunteers advising them of progress.

·         By mid-November it’s time to carry out the annual Health & safety Review of the church’s Parish Room where the Shelter will be located. There is a fairly extensive checklist that includes verifying boiler, lighting and fire alarm systems servicing, inspecting fire extinguishers, checking first aid boxes, testing smoke alarms, reviewing fire test logs, etc.

·         Since we will host female guests for the first time, we have to re-write procedures and purchase room dividers to provide segregated male and female sleeping quarters.

·         It’s time to think about general purchases so we carry out an inventory of material left over from last year, then update the list of things like plastic plates and cutlery, general foodstuffs, cleaning and disinfectant supplies, gloves, tinfoil etc. Mrs R will do the shopping later. We also need to acquire two sets of keys to various rooms.

·         The number of volunteers is slightly down on last year and, as usual, there are few volunteers for the Overnight Shift (10.30pm to 6.30am). Frantic scurrying around ensues!

·         St John Ambulance is offering a Front Line Workers First Aid course again this year so I need to look for applicants among the volunteers.

·         The Training Evening will happen soon, one week before the Shelter opens, so it must be prepared for; materials will need updating and printing, speakers and volunteers have to be invited, refreshments bought, presentations prepared.

·         All the Brighton and Hove churches involved in the Winter Homeless Night Shelter assembled on 14^th November for a launch evening at One Church in central Brighton. We had prayers, songs and speeches. Two former guests who have transformed their lives and found accommodation were there to speak of their experience of being hosted by the Shelter. It is a moving tale of gratitude for the love, care and attention they received, quite emotional. Indeed, as I arrived, they were waiting outside the venue and each gave me a rib-cracking bear hug.

·         By now we have about 50 volunteers, enough to staff two teams but the Overnight Shift (two men and two women volunteers) still has some gaps.

·         Our Training Evening on 18^th November is a great success. About 35 volunteers turn up for an evening of training, information-sharing, refreshments and laughter. As Fr Kevin noted, there was a great atmosphere - quite a buzz - which bodes well for our Shelter.

·         The Winter Night Shelter formally opened on Saturday 23^rd November at St Peter’s Anglican Church in central Brighton. There were 13 guests including one woman and all went well.

We will open the Sacred Heart Shelter in two days time. Think of us and say a prayer for the success of the Shelter.