Subscribe
Community
Churches give WARM nights
Interfaith group offers shelter from cold to homeless
Friday, Jan. 1, 2010
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photos by REID SILVERMAN
Volunteers and visitors gather in a circle for prayer before having dinner at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Mechanicsville, which hosted a homeless shelter in December for a week. Several county churches are taking turns to provide food and overnight shelter to homeless men and women this winter.
|
E-Mail This Article
A number of St. Mary's churches have partnered together to provide overflow space for homeless shelters during the cold season.
The program, called Wrapping Arms ‘Round Many, or WARM, aims to provide shelter for up to 20 men or women who do not have a home to call their own. Different churches take a week at a time to provide a dinner, a place to sleep and breakfast from November through March.
"I came into it after the idea had already been knocked around a little bit," said Ken Walker, pastor of Lexington Park United Methodist Church and coordinator of the WARM program.
Earlier this year, conversations between some of the shelter leaders and churches revolved around starting a program in St. Mary's similar to ones already in existence in other counties, including in Calvert and Charles.
"It's something that has been sorely needed" in St. Mary's County, Walker said.
In the 10 years Walker has been in St. Mary's County, the "face of homelessness" has changed, he said, especially in the last year or so as the recession has forced even harder times on the working poor.
"I believe some people still don't believe there are homeless people in this county," he said.
"The farther you get away from the metropolitan area the harder it is to see homelessness," Walker said. But it does exist in all too many numbers in St. Mary's County, he said.
The program will alleviate overcrowding at Three Oaks Center, Leah's House and Angel's Watch in Charles County, Walker said.
"The real concern was … in the cold weather months they have people sleeping on the floors in every square inch" of the shelters, he said. "We're trying to relieve some of the pressure there."
Walker said that it is fascinating to see the different faiths come together and work for a common good, something not always easily accomplished.
The basic schedule is people arrive each evening at about 6 p.m. and are fed dinner. Lights are out at 10 p.m. In the morning an early breakfast is served and everyone is to be out of the church by 7 a.m.
Transportation is provided by county government, which will pick up the homeless usually from one of the shelters and take them to the church each evening.
"That seems like the most ideal route to me," Walker said.
The St. Mary's County Department of Social Services helps by screening each of the people who plan to stay at the church shelters to ensure the safety of everyone on the site. The sheriff's office will also send deputies to check in on the site.
For now it is mostly single men or women who will be directed to the churches, but in an emergency situation, families with children could also be sent to the churches at night.
"If they say they need a place to lay their head at night, if they are homeless, we make a referral," usually to Three Oaks shelter, said Kerry Miciotto, family services program manager at the department of social services. "DSS is sometimes the first stop for homeless people."
Unfortunately, she said, the shelters sometimes become overcrowded, especially during the winter months. That is why the WARM program is so important to have in place, she said.
Immaculate Conception Church in Mechanicsville hosted the shelter for a week early in December with the help of the Real Life Church, also in Mechanicsville.
"The project has really created a lot of excitement in our parish and the two churches. There's been a lot of response to it," said Mike McCauley, coordinator for Immaculate Conception's WARM nights.
He said more than 50 people signed up to help with meals, staying as overnight chaperones and transporting equipment. Some of the meals planned included lasagna, beef stew and mashed potatoes and spaghetti.
Teresa Thorne signed up to make dinner on her birthday during the week Immaculate Conception hosted the shelter. She made a turkey dinner, with all of the trimmings, and also invited her friends and family to come to the church to celebrate with the homeless visitors that evening.
McCauley said he was glad the churches in the county could pull together to help with an important community need.
SAYSF Bible Church took the first week of the program, and in addition to Lexington Park United Methodist and Immaculate Conception, other churches signed up to host weeks include First Saints Community Church, St. George's Episcopal Church and Cornerstone Presbyterian Church.
