A HANDBOOK for the Capitol Hill Group Ministry’s CONGREGATION-BASED SHELTER MINISTRY St. Mark’s Episcopal , Capitol Hill July – August 2012

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Every year since 1995 St. Mark’s has provided at least one month of hospitality to families in need. Over the years, many volunteers from our church have found being part of this project a powerful reminder of what it means to “walk in love.” Thank you very much for volunteering to be part of this ministry and making it possible for St. Mark’s to offer hospitality to neighbors in need.

The shelter is part of the Capitol Hill Group Ministry’s (CHGM) Congregation-Based Shelter Program (CBSP). It provides emergency shelter and case management services for families in need of immediate assistance with housing and other issues.

Participating congregations provide physical shelter, evening meals and hospitality to families in who are temporarily homeless. In 2008, St. Mark’s expanded its program to provide hospitality in both July and August. In 2010, with generous contributions from many parishioners, we installed a family-style in the undercroft for the use of families. This program allows families to stay together during a crisis and transition times. It gives them a stable place to stay while they work to make positive changes in their lives thorough counseling, job training and life-skills .

Over 120 volunteers are needed to host the shelter. On Fridays to Sundays, two St Mark’s volunteers stay overnight in the Undercroft Library and one other volunteer brings dinner for all. On Tuesdays, Wednesday, and Thursday, a St. Mark’s volunteer brings dinner for the guests and the Capitol Hill Group Ministry staff personnel who stay overnight with them. Again, this year our neighbors at Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church are joining us in hosting the shelter. Their volunteers will provide meals and spend every Monday night in July and August at the shelter.

St Mark’s volunteers may sign up in the Parish after Sunday Services or on-line using processes outlined at http://www.stmarks.net/get-involved/st.-marks-shelter-ministry .

The program is based in Baxter , where volunteers and guests prepare meals and eat together, and the of St. Mark’s church. Families and volunteers will sleep in the nave’s undercroft -- the families in specially prepared Sunday school , the volunteers on air mattresses in the library at the end of the hall.

ABOUT OUR GUESTS:

Guest families have been selected and screened to be part of this program. They have agreed to the schedule and rules that you read in this handbook. Near the end of the handbook you will find a summary of the contract they sign. A copy of the contract is available in the back of the confidential log book kept in the church library in the Undercroft. Please review the list of general expectations that starts on p. 8 of this handbook.

IMORTANT: Volunteers offer hospitality and solidarity in the form of food, shelter and a sympathetic presence. But we are not there to solve the guests’ problems. If you notice a problem or become aware of an issue, please note it in the daily log and pass it along to your weekly coordinator. In keeping with CHGM rules, please do not offer rides, money, or any other kind of assistance beyond what you are offering through this ministry.

If there is a problem or unusual situation and you don’t know what to do, CALL YOUR WEEKLY COORDINATOR. IF SHE CANNOT BE REACHED, CALL SHELAH WILCOX. If you deem the situation to be life-threatening, call 911.

A St. Mark’s coordinator and/or a Group Ministry staff member is always available by telephone during the evening of your volunteer service if you have any questions or if an unexpected situation arises. Monthly coordinators (August) Stephanie Deutsch (202-547-8624) and (July) Susan Sedgewick (202-546-0160) are available for any general questions about the program.

St. Mark’s Coordinators

July 1 – 28 Susan Sedgewick, 202-544-0150, 202-904-5921 (cell) [email protected]

July 29 – August 4 Elizabeth Becker, 202-547-0530 [email protected]

August 5 – August 11 Grace Aspinall, 703-222-4744, 703-328-4494 (cell) [email protected]

August 12 – 18 Marlan Green [email protected] 202-486-9624

August 19 – 25 Jana Gowan 580-483-2175 [email protected]

August 26 – 31 Martha Huizenga, 202-544-3569, 703-626-4026 (Cell) [email protected]

August (overall coordinator) Stephanie Deutsch, 202-547-8624, 202-251-3533 (cell) [email protected]

July 1 – August 31, calendar coordinator, Ryan Velasco, 202-413-7202 [email protected]

July – August Key drop off and pick up Don and Winnie Mosher 404 A St SE 202-547-6321

Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church Coordinator

Sally Stoecker, 202-412-0808 [email protected]

Family Night

Monday, August 20 is Family Night for the families we are hosting and others who are staying at other churches. We will provide dinner for about 15 adults and activities for their children. Please consider coming that evening to share dinner and time with our guests. Look for details in the church bulletin or email Terri Nostrand at [email protected] .

SCHEDULE FOR A TYPICAL DAY IN THE SHELTER PROGRAM

6:00 PM Volunteer hosts pick up key from key coordinator between 6 and 6:15 and arrive at Baxter House. PLEASE CALL THE MOSHERS. 202-547-6321 IF YOU CANNOT PICK YP THE KEY BY 6:15.

Between 6:30 and 7 the night’s dinner will be delivered (occasionally it will have been delivered earlier in the day and will already be there).

7:00 Guest families arrive at Baxter house via the CHGM van.

7:15 Volunteers and families eat dinner together. After dinner expect the guests to help clean up.

PLEASE -- NO CELL PHONE USE BY VOLUNTEERS OR GUESTS AT BAXTER HOUSE. PLEASE RESPECT DINNER TIME BY STAYING OFF THE PHONE AND GENTLY ENCOURAGING OUR GUESTS TO DO THE SAME!!

7:45 – 9:00 PM Free time. If it is ok with the parents, volunteers may take the children outside to play ball, go for a walk or play in the . The parents may go to their rooms in the church undercroft or they may want to spend time talking with the volunteers. No food should be taken to the Undercroft so to reduce food sources for unwanted critters.

The undercroft may be used at any time by guests and volunteers. The new shelter bathroom is also available and can be opened with the same key that opens the guest . CHGM personnel will have discussed a shower schedule with the guests so they know when each family can use it.

9:00 Bedtime for children.

10:00 LIGHTS OUT!!

6 – 6:30 AM Everyone wakes up. One volunteer goes to Baxter House to prepare simple breakfast. The other volunteer waits for the family and accompanies them to Baxter House with all the things they need for that day.

7:30 AM Breakfast “Grab and Go” breakfast on Monday through Fridays: (Juice boxes, individual apple sauce, and granola bars will be stocked in the Baxter House .)

If volunteer wants to provide a cooked breakfast on Saturday or Sunday, they should ask the family if they would like that in lieu of the “grab and go” and bring whatever supplies they need.

7:45 Departure on Monday – Friday:

Families are picked up by the CHGM van at Baxter House on Mondays through Fridays. If there is food left over from dinner the night before, please package it so the van driver can take it to Shirley’s Place. If not the food should be thrown out.

Volunteers tidy up the kitchen, write a short report on the evening and morning in the log under the sink in the library (for more on the logbook, see below). Please drop the set of keys through mail slot at Don and Winnie Mosher’s, 404 A St., SE, just two blocks from St. Mark’s.

Departure on Saturday/Sundays may depart as late as 8:30. Everyone is out of the church by 8:30.

Families are invited to join our Sunday worship service. Please mention it to our guests . There is, of course, no obligation to come to church.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROVIDING DINNER

Again this year we are providing general menu guidance. Each day of the week will have a “theme” with recommendations for what to prepare for dinner each day. A few days before your scheduled date, a coordinator will call or e-mail you to confirm that you are bringing dinner and to let you know how many to cook for (usually between 6 and 10 people including volunteers). At that time you can make special arrangements for delivering dinner if it is not convenient to bring it between 6:15 and 6:30 on your date.

Please keep foods simple and portions appropriate for four guests (2 adults, 2 children) and two volunteers at least. If you plan to stay and eat but are not spending the night, plan your quantity of food accordingly. Below is the suggested menu that has been agreed on by CHGM staff and the families who will be our guests.

For the ease of the overnight volunteers, please plan on little or no food preparation at the church unless you are planning to stay and eat with our guests. If so, you may plan on asking them to help with food preparation. No leftovers kept in the Baxter House refrigerator . Extra food may be taken to the CHGM day center, Shirley’s Place or thrown out. (This is hard as so many of us are frugal and it hurts to throw food away.)

Deliver food to Baxter House at 118 3 rd Street, SE, between 6:30 pm and 7 pm (BUT NO LATER THAN 7). If you should arrive and find no one there, just wait a few minutes. The volunteers should arrive by 6:30 at the latest.

Suggested Entrees Sunday: chicken (baked, fried) Monday: pasta, macaroni and cheese Tuesday: ground beef, meatloaf etc Wednesday: barbecued chicken or beef, fish fingers Thursday: beef tacos, beef hot dogs Friday: pizza – cheese and pepperoni Saturday: spaghetti and meat balls or hamburgers

Suggested side dishes vegetables: broccoli bits, green beans, corn potatoes: roasted, mashed, fried rice black beans salads: garden salad, cole slaw, tomatoes desserts: pudding cups, fruit salad, apple sauce, sherbet, brownies, cookies, popsicles, jello apple sauce rolls

Drinks : water, milk and juice will always be available at Baxter House. You may bring iced tea or lemonade. Please, no soda.

Please consider staying and eating with the family and volunteers when you bring dinner. This is nice for everyone – the guests, you, your children, and the other volunteers. Dinnertime is a powerful shared moment and many volunteers have found it enjoyable as well. Some volunteers like to say a blessing before dinner. Occasionally our young guests have volunteered to do so. It is up to you as dinner host. Do what seems comfortable and natural to you.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR STAYING OVERNIGHT

During the week before your overnight date, the weekly coordinator from St. Mark’s will be in touch with you, usually by e-mail, to confirm your availability and to share information about our guests and how the stay has been going.

Please pick up the keys from the key coordinator usually between 5:30 and 6:00 pm on the day you are spending the night. You will get 4 keys – one is for Baxter House, one for the church side entrance on Third Street, one is for the Sunday school rooms where the guests sleep, and one for the shelter bathroom/ Please be sure that guests’ rooms are locked and that the bathroom is UNLOCKED (so it can be cleaned) before leaving in the morning . Return the keys the next morning to the coordinator by putting them through her mail slot or following some other pre-arranged plan.

IMPORTANT: If you know the code for opening the 3 rd street undercroft please do NOT use it; open the door only with the key. Our young guests are observant and they easily catch on to the code.

What to bring • Your cell phone • A sleeping bag or quilt and a pillow for yourself (you will be sleeping on an air mattress) • articles • Sleeping clothes. Remember, it is chilly in the undercroft . Our air-conditioning is powerful. • If you wish, you may also bring books or toys to share with the children. If you bring these, please take them with you when you leave. We will provide games and art supplies.

Arrival Volunteers come between 6 and 6:15. One volunteer should be sure to be at Baxter House; the other can go over to the church, entering by the undercroft door on 3 rd Street. The volunteers may leave their overnight things in the library. This is a good time to read over the log book (see below). If guests have not come by 7:45 pm, please call Shelah Wilcox, 202-714-7931 or 301- 408-8827 and your coordinator, Susan Sedgewick (July) or weekly coordinators or Stephanie Deutsch (August) and write it up in the logbook.

Food Delivery Be aware of when dinner is being delivered and greet the person bringing it at Baxter House. Sometimes other arrangements will be made and the dinner will already be there. And sometimes the person spending the night will be bringing dinner. If there is a problem and dinner does not come, there are frozen casseroles and pizza in the freezer.

Logbook The logbook is kept in the library in the beneath the sink. It is considered confidential. Please do not leave it out in the library or the kitchen. Try to read over the notes from the previous evenings before the guests arrive for the evening. In the morning before you leave, please write brief notes on your evening and morning making note of any special situations other volunteers should be aware of. Please return the logbook to the storage container before you leave.

Dinner Set the table in preparation of the guests arrival about 7 pm. Sit down to eat by 7:15 pm. On the weekend, they may be coming on their own, so may arrive earlier than 7. Some hosts like to say grace; others don’t. Do whatever feels natural and comfortable for you. Paul Abernathy, our rector, and Justi, our associate rector, has an open invitation to dinner and may stop by to eat or to say hi.

After dinner Guests generally help with clean up. Load dishes into dishwasher, fill soap container with dishwasher detergent. There will be some Cascade or Cascade-like under the sink and start it. (Please be careful that dishwashing soap is not used.)

There is free time after dinner. Offer to play with the children so the moms can have free time. One volunteer may take the adults back to the church if they want to rest or have time to themselves, while the other volunteer spends time with the children. If it is ok with the parents, you may take the children outside to play in the courtyard or for a walk. You can also play board games, cards, do coloring or reading.

Bedtime Everyone goes downstairs to the undercroft at 8:45. The children should be in bed by 9:00. This is a rule the families have agreed to with CHGM and is important because the families get up very early. Adults should be quiet by 10:00. Volunteers should check 3rd Street doors and the door to the upstairs to make sure they are locked and secure.

Morning Everyone gets up between 6 and 6:30AM. An overnight volunteer may knock on the guests’ doors to make sure they are awake. The other volunteer will go to Baxter house to put out the “grab and go” breakfast food – juice, fruit, granola bars (coordinators will keep breakfast supplies stocked.) The other volunteer waits for the guests downstairs. Breakfast is at 7:30 and guests leave at 7:45 on weekdays. If there are leftovers from the night before, they should be packed up to go on the next van. On the weekends, that will be Monday morning. There are bags and containers for this in the kitchen. Make sure the kitchen is tidy before you leave. Before you leave the undercroft, please make sure the guests’ doors are locked and that the shelter bathroom is UNLOCKED so that it may be cleaned by Green Maintenance .

Options for Weekend Mornings If you are staying on a Friday or Saturday night, you may get up and have breakfast a bit later than during the week and/or make a special breakfast. However, the families must leave the church by 8:30 am. You may also plan a special activity or outing to do with the family or invite them to come to church with you on Sunday. If you do this, please let Shelah Wilcox know. It is also fine to keep to the weekday schedule and breakfast food that is already stocked . Any changes should be agreed upon with the family before you all go to bed. If you choose to make a special breakfast, please bring any breakfast fixings with you from home.

Feedback Please take a few minutes to write in the logbook about how the evening went. If we are low on breakfast food, make a note of that and mention it to the weekly coordinator. Please, also, be in touch with the coordinator either by e-mail or by phone to let her know how things went. This is helpful in preparing the next night’s volunteers. Please keep the logbook under the sink in the library.

IMPORTANT!!!

Shelter clients sign a 13-page contract with the CBSP, a complete copy of which can be found in the Shelter logbook. A number of volunteers have expressed interest in some of the details of the contract to help clarify expectations and rules. What follows are highlights of the contract that guest families agree to.

General Expectations – please read these carefully • Guests arrive together by 7:00 PM and depart the next morning by 7:45 (weekdays) and by 8:30 on Saturday and Sunday. • Guests do not leave the church, church grounds or Baxter House between arrival and departure the next AM except to smoke outside. They may go across the street to the Library of Congress grounds to smoke. • No smoking inside the building. Smokers may go outside to sidewalk if necessary. Last smoke break is at 9:30pm • Use only areas designated by host church. • Food is not allowed in rooms. • Quiet time at 9pm; Lights out at 10 • Guests participate in chores by helping hosts clean up after meals and by keeping their rooms clean and tidy. Trash can are to be set outside their door daily. • Time after dinner is for reading, playing, talking and preparation for next day • No using cell phones during dinner or after 11 PM • No asking for money or rides from hosts • There is no obligation to worship at host church, but they are invited to join us • CHGM has a NO TOLERANCE policy towards drugs, alcohol and violence or threats of violence. Anyone using them will be asked to leave the shelter program . • Hosts will not make gifts to guests. If volunteers wish to give something (toys for children, books, diapers, etc) they will give these items to CHGM staff on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evenings when they will be there for dinner and spending the night.

Expectations particular to St. Mark’s • We enjoy eating meals with our guests and spending time with the children. • Saturday and Sunday AM wake-up and departure may be flexible, at the discretion of and in agreement with hosts. • Some Saturdays and/or Sundays guests may be invited on a “field trip” with a host volunteer.

Grounds for termination of guests in program • Use of alcohol, drugs or weapons • Violence or any dangerous or threatening behavior • Cursing, rudeness • Admitting anyone to shelter site without prior approval of CBSP staff

EXCEPTIONS TO THESE RULES MUST BE DISCUSSED WITH AND APPROVED BY CHGM STAFF.

**We hope you will enjoy your time with our guests. Thank you so much for making it possible for St. Mark’s to continue to offer radical hospitality to neighbors in need.**