Our host week at the Interfaith Hospitality Network at 91 June Street, Worcester is January 16-22, 2021. IHN of Greater Worcester works in partnership with the faith community to provide shelter and assistance to families with children who are homeless. The program’s primary goals are to assist families in increasing their income and to help them secure permanent housing, while providing the critical support services necessary for them to succeed.
This year, we will be donating to special projects needed at the house. At this time, the house is in need of cordless blinds for the brand new windows that were installed over the summer. Please consider making a donation HERE (We are using the youth group’s fund for disbursement of funds).
Since the onset of the pandemic, UUCW has helped fill volunteer slots throughout the year. Thank you to those volunteers!!
Coverage to the shelter that volunteers provide keeps the program alive! Volunteer coverage equates to $75,000 in staffing costs which IHN would otherwise have to cover. To spend 3 hours at the house, or to sleep overnight is a HUGE gift which allows IHN to keep families sheltered.
So far, the week has coverage for every slot except for Saturday overnight (8:30 pm-8:30 am). If you are willing and able, you can sign up HERE. Check the box of the slot you can fill, click submit and sign up at the bottom, fill in your name, email and phone #, then click sign up now. It’s that easy.
It’s very quiet at the shelter these days because we only have 3 families currently and are waiting until the surge has calmed down to fill the remaining 3 rooms. Due to COVID, we ask that volunteers stay in the director’s office and be on hand to answer doors and be a point person for any questions. So, volunteers are not intermingling or eating with families. This is a sad reality, but it allows for the situation to be very safe at the house! There are no COVID cases among the families.
Training is available. Thank you for considering covering on our scheduled weeks, but coverage is also needed all year round. Please share this with your friends and family. We are looking to build a nice base of volunteers who are trained and ready to be a regular part of this amazing mission.