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How to Operate a Shelter:
An Overview of the Emergency Shelter Network Operated
by The Partnership for the Homeless
The Partnership began in 1982 as a single shelter in a Manhattan Church basement. Today, The Partnership’s public/private collaborations and direct service programs assist families and individuals in making the successful transition from New York streets to permanent housing, skilled jobs, and self-sufficiency.
The Emergency Faith Shelter Network
Over 100 communities of faith participate in The Partnership
for the Homeless’ network of volunteer-run overnight shelters in churches
and synagogues throughout the City. These safe havens provide a clean, warm
bed, two nutritious meals, and fellowship to hundreds of homeless New Yorkers.
Volunteers share a meal with shelter guests and spend the night on-site, providing
a level of personal interaction seldom seen at large city shelters.
History of the Emergency Faith Shelter Network
| 1982: A Vision of a Unique Partnership. The Partnership for the Homeless came into existence in the summer of 1982, after a Mayor’s Town Meeting at the Brotherhood Synagogue at which an audience member chastised then Mayor Edward I. Koch for the city’s lack of response to the problem of growing homelessness. Mayor Koch challenged the religious leaders present at this forum to act on their Judeo-Christian principles and provide shelter for those who were living on the streets. Peter Smith, an activist, attorney, and former city official, was also in the audience. He saw the possibility of a partnership among faith communities with support from the city to address what was then thought to be a temporary crisis. | “Faith communities
treasure their involvement in The Partnership’s network because
the shelters provide an opportunity for congregations to live out the
message of the Gospel and the teachings of Isaiah.” - Fr. Gerald Ryan, St. Luke’s Church South Bronx |
The Faith Community Accepts the Challenge. Smith and a group of religious leaders came together to develop a response to the growing homeless crisis. They envisioned an effort that would address both the immediate need to help the growing number of adults who were living on the street and the need for long-term solutions to the problem. As an initial step, this group decided they would ask churches and synagogues around the city to set up emergency shelters that would provide homeless adults with safe, overnight lodging, wholesome meals, and fellowship. The idea for the faith-based network was born.
The Faith Community Comes Together as The Partnership for the Homeless. In order to realize this vision, the organizing group knew it would need to create an umbrella organization that would unite the efforts of the faith community on homelessness. They created The Partnership for the Homeless. The Partnership emerged from the faith community and became the unifying force of the movement. The Partnership was set up as a membership organization, with the clergy and volunteers who were staffing the emergency shelters as members. This structure remains in place today. Volunteers from all Partnership programs constitute the membership of the organization. Members elect the Board of Directors and participate in Board committees, advisory committees, and in educational and advocacy events. One-third of the members of the Board come from the ranks of volunteers. Throughout The Partnership’s 20-year history, clergy from the participating faith communities have always been active members of the Board.
From Vision to Reality: Building the Faith-Based Network.
The Partnership, with Peter Smith as its first President,
worked tirelessly in its first few years to turn this vision into reality. St.
Joseph’s Church in Greenwich Village was the first faith community to
agree to establish an emergency shelter in response to the homeless crisis.
With St. Joseph’s serving as a pioneering example, The Partnership worked
non-stop to reach its goal of establishing 40 faith-based shelters by the end
of its first year. From contacting old friends to knocking on doors, The Partnership’s
small, volunteer staff convinced churches and synagogues to join the effort.
During that first year The Partnership held 12 Town Meetings throughout the
city to stimulate faith communities to open shelters and to link faith communities
with local community groups. These and other outreach efforts were highly successful.
By its first anniversary The Partnership had 50 faith-based shelters up and
running.
Designing a Model Public-Private Partnership. At
the same time that St. Joseph’s was recruited, Smith sat down with the
directors of three Manhattan drop-in centers: the Holy Name Center on Bleecker
Street, the Third Street Men’s Shelter on the Lower East Side, and the
Moravian Center in midtown. Under The Partnership’s leadership, they worked
out a system in which homeless adults would be screened and referred to St.
Joseph’s from their centers. The city’s Human Resources Administration
agreed to send vans to transport the guests to and from the church. This initial
design became the prototype for the system that continues to operate today and
a model public-private partnership that has been studied and replicated in other
cities.
Building and Supporting the Faith-Based Network. Heartened by the strong response of the faith community and the commitment of volunteers, The Partnership continued extensive outreach and recruitment efforts at the same time it looked for innovative ways to support the existing centers. While churches and synagogues were motivated by their religious beliefs to serve and minister to the homeless, for many establishing an emergency shelter involved additional costs, particularly for food. Providing a wholesome dinner and breakfast has always been a critical part of the ministry and supporting this ministry became a number one priority of The Partnership.
The Partnership’s Board and members advocated for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to support shelter-based food programs as part of its efforts to address hunger. By June 1983 The Partnership had received its first grant to provide meals to shelter guests. These funds helped make it possible for many churches and synagogues to participate in the network by preventing the emergency shelter from draining scarce resources from the church. The Partnership also worked from the beginning to secure public and private funds to provide fuel reimbursement in order to help faith communities defray some of the costs involved in operating their shelters.
The Partnership Succeeds. By its second anniversary in September 1984, The Partnership had exceeded its goals, making The Partnership for the Homeless one of the most successful public-private partnerships ever developed in New York City. The movement spread quickly among the faith communities in the city and many churches and synagogues participated by providing volunteers even if they were unable to provide space for a shelter.
The original mission of The Partnership—to actively partner with the faith community—was realized in its first years and has been the foundation that allowed The Partnership to grow and expand its work over the past two decades.
Requirements for Operating a Shelter
Communities of faith need to have two important resources
to operate a shelter in the Emergency Faith Shelter Network:
1. The space. Requirements for sleeping quarters include:
- At least 60 square feet per guest: a minimum of 300 square feet for 5 guests to 900 square feet for 15 guests
- One toilet for every six guests
- Heat and hot water
- Proper ventilation
- Two means of emergency egress with illuminated exit signs
- Two smoke detectors on the ceiling of the sleeping area
Please Note: The Partnership and the Department of Homeless Services will provide a free building inspection and The Partnership can provide some funding for facility renovation if modifications can make the site suitable
2. Volunteers. The Partnership strongly recommends that at least two people volunteer each shelter shift. The faith shelter will also need volunteer leadership to coordinate the scheduling of volunteers and manage the administrative aspects of the shelter (ordering supplies and food).
The Partnership for the Homeless Provides Significant Support
to Shelters
The Partnership for the Homeless has received funding from
a variety of public and private sources to help faith communities operate their
shelter. The Partnership provides virtually all of the additional resources
required to operate a shelter, including
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“The Partnership for
the Homeless has been for our parish shelter an inestimable source of
help and support. I’m sure we would never have opened or survived
without their help.” - Rev. Msgr. Bryan J. Karvelis, Pastor Transfiguration Church |
Designing Your Shelter Program
Each community of faith designs the shelter program and
determines:
* If your community can not operate 5 or more evenings because of facility or volunteer limitations, it may be able to partner with another shelter in a similar situation to combine for 5 or more nights. Please contact The Partnership staff for more information.
| Our Homeless Guests The homeless guests in the Emergency Faith Shelter Network are single adult men and women in need of a safe and temporary place to sleep. Some have been homeless for a very long time, while others are newly homeless. Some guests are employed or in school, while others do not or are not able to work. Some struggle with mental illness or addiction or both. |
“I thank God that
I’m here. I thank him for having this staff here that feeds us so
well.” - A Shelter Guest |
Each shelter is matched with a Drop-In Center that screens the guests before they are sent to the shelter. Only guests who are sober, tested negative for T.B. and are not a danger to themselves or others will be sent to shelters in the Emergency Faith Shelter Network.
The Drop-In Centers
There are nine Drop-In Centers throughout the City. They
provide homeless individuals who do not reside in a city shelter with:
| Volunteers The Partnership recommends that shelters ask new volunteers to attend a 90-minute training before they serve their first shift, and also require that a new volunteer serve three shifts with an experienced volunteer before serving with another new volunteer. A typical volunteer shift is 10-12 hours long, with about eight of those hours spent asleep. |
“We have over forty volunteers a month who devote their time
in ministry here at St. Paul’s House. Many of these volunteers
have expressed over and over again how thrilled they are to give what
they could to serve those who have so little. Our mission is indebted
to The Partnership for their support and encouragement in this ministry.”
-Pastor Steve Eckardt, |
A Typical Evening at a Shelter in The Partnership’s Shelter Network
| 7:30 – 8:15 p.m. | Review log book from previous night; set up cots; prepare and set out food |
| 8:15p.m. | Guests arrive via bus from the Drop-In Center |
| 8:15 – 8:30 p.m. | Guests sign-in; distribute linens |
| 8:30 – 9:00 p.m. | Serve food; clean serving area; Call volunteer coordinator to schedule next shift |
| 9:00 – 10:00 p.m. | Chat with the guests and the other volunteer Write in the log book – note supplies running low |
| 10:00 p.m. | Lights out |
| 10:00 p.m. – 5:30a.m. | Sleep |
| 5:30 – 5:45 a.m. | Set out breakfast: cereal, bagels, bread, fruit, etc.; Say goodbye to guests; bus arrives to take guests back to Drop-In |
| 5:45 – 6:30 a.m. | Put away cots; bag linen; clean up; take out the trash; lock up |
| 6:30 a.m. | Head home for a shower before heading off to work |
Volunteer Leaders
The Partnership stresses the importance of having a leadership
group that will divide the main responsibilities of running a network. Ideally,
we work to ensure that each shelter has a leadership group composed of:
Shelter Coordinator: The shelter coordinator has overall responsibility for the operation of the shelter and is the liaison with The Partnership and other entities, such as DHS and the referring drop-in center. The shelter coordinator is sometimes a clergy member and sometimes a lay person.
Volunteer Coordinator: The volunteer coordinator is responsible for ensuring that the shelter is appropriately staffed each evening it operates, that all volunteers have been trained, and that there are sufficient “back-up” volunteers to fill in if someone is unable to participate. Many congregations form a volunteer committee to work with The Partnership on recruitment and training.
Food Coordinator: The food coordinator is in charge of ordering food for the Food and Nutrition Program, keeping the books and submitting invoices to The Partnership, ensuring that healthy, nutritious meals are prepared, and ensuring that volunteers use safe kitchen and food handling procedures. The food coordinator is the liaison to the Partnership’s nutritionist, who oversees all aspects of the Food and Nutrition Program.
Linen and Supplies Coordinator: This coordinator makes sure that linens are delivered and picked up on schedule and handled properly and that the shelter has all the supplies it needs for the guests.
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If you would like more
information or have questions, please contact:
Walter Rodriguez |
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