Grace Presbyterian is a Church that Responds to Poverty

Saint John has a homelessness problem.  Saint John also has a cold, wet, snowy winter.  Knowing this, Grace Presbyterian Church opened their doors so homeless men in Saint John could get out of cold and in to a safe, warm, dry place to sleep. Out of the Cold was born.  It was open every night in January, February, and March to give forty-four homeless men a place to sleep during the winter of 2012.  A dedicated group of volunteers made a nightly shelter possible.  Each had his or her own reasons to help at Out of the Cold.

Some volunteers don’t like how homeless people in Saint John are treated.  John saw that the help that homeless men needed was very practical.  The need for shelter had to be met by someone.  John wanted to make sure that men had shelter in a safe environment.  Otherwise, these men would be left to the street or other dangerous living situations. 

Empathy was also a factor for volunteers.  Charlene wanted the men who came to the shelter to know that there are people in Saint John who care about them.  The men who used the shelter were invisible in Saint John.  Charlene wanted to make them visible.

Other volunteers were already dedicated community servants who wanted a new challenge.  For Lucille, it was obvious that teamwork would be necessary among volunteers if Out of the Cold was going to be a success.  Lucille had not tried this type of volunteering before, but the team dynamic at the shelter – paired with the worthiness of providing homeless people with a place to sleep – meant that Lucille was up for the challenge.

Brigette imagined what it would be like to be homeless.  When she began to think about what challenges homeless men in Saint John would face, the need for shelter became obvious to her.  After imagining, she wanted to use some of her time to make sure that the shelter’s guests faced fewer challenges, at least for one night.

Fern Bennett, Out of the Cold’s volunteer co-ordinator, was excited to see the volunteers come together.  She was amazed by the efforts they made at Out of the Cold.  "Serving felt great,” she says. “We saw a need; we stepped up, and we were not alone."

Planning for this winter is underway.  Out of the Cold will hold an information and training session for volunteers on November 8, 2012 from 2:00-4:00pm and from 7:00-9:00pm at Grace Presbyterian Church. 

For more information, contact Fern at 645-9208 or Jillian at 672-4952.

This post was originally part of a newsletter that I co-authored about Saint John area churches and Christian non-profits with poverty reduction services.  Over the next several weeks I will post the articles that I wrote for this project.