We recently marked the close of a successful season operating the Amherst Homeless Shelter with a celebration to acknowledge the individuals and area businesses that helped make our first foray into Amherst such a success. On Saturday April 30th we entertained approximately 50 volunteers, staff, and supporters of the shelter with a wonderful lunch provided by our friends at Tommaso's Restaurant, and live entertainment by "Saints of Tomorrow" an up and coming Christian alternative rock band from Springfield.
The Amherst shelter had a capacity of 16 individuals, and served both male and female. A total of 84 individuals (62 male 22 female) stayed at the shelter between November 1, 2010 and May 1, 2011. The length of their stays were anywhere from 1 night to 150 nights, with the average length of stay 24 nights. The average age of the guests was 41. Individuals staying at the shelter were given referrals to more than 30 different agencies and housing opportunities. A total of 25 guests were accepted into programs, or moved into their own housing situation.
Every evening, in addition to our staff, we were blessed by a pool of more than 30 volunteers who assisted with the daily setup and tear down of the shelter, and also helped in providing fellowship and encouragement to the guests.
Meg Wright from Eliot Homeless Services proved to be an outstanding partner in the case management of our guests. Many guests of the shelter were able to move into more permanent living situations because of the diligent case management efforts of Meg and Milestone.
Several local businesses lent their support this year also. The Sub and Pizza Restaurant (http://www.subandpizza.com/), the Amherst Motel (http://www.amherstmotel.com/), Domino's Pizza Hadley (www.pizza.dominos.com/massachusetts/amherst/, and Tommaso’s Restaurant in Feeding Hills (http://www.tommasos.net/) were all extremely generous with their support.
The First Baptist Church of Amherst and their many supporters, led by Jerry Gates, played a major role in making the shelter a reality. By raising the funds necessary to install a sprinkler system and showers, the church was able to secure a permit for a permanent shelter
We would like to especially thank Chef Steve Dinalais. Steve, with the support of his brother Mark prepared over 140 meals for the shelter all at his own time and expense. With Steve around we never had any worries about food service at the shelter.
Although the shelter has closed for the season, we will continue to pray for all of the wonderful people we encountered, as well as follow the progress of many of the guests that blessed us with their presence.
The Shelter Statistics
It Takes a Village
It took the help of so many wonderful individuals and supporting businesses to pull it off every night, I could not attempt to list them all, for fear that I might miss someone. However we do want to recognize a few, without who's contribution we would have struggled.
Every evening, in addition to our staff, we were blessed by a pool of more than 30 volunteers who assisted with the daily setup and tear down of the shelter, and also helped in providing fellowship and encouragement to the guests.
Meg Wright from Eliot Homeless Services proved to be an outstanding partner in the case management of our guests. Many guests of the shelter were able to move into more permanent living situations because of the diligent case management efforts of Meg and Milestone.
Several local businesses lent their support this year also. The Sub and Pizza Restaurant (http://www.subandpizza.com/), the Amherst Motel (http://www.amherstmotel.com/), Domino's Pizza Hadley (www.pizza.dominos.com/massachusetts/amherst/, and Tommaso’s Restaurant in Feeding Hills (http://www.tommasos.net/) were all extremely generous with their support.
The First Baptist Church of Amherst and their many supporters, led by Jerry Gates, played a major role in making the shelter a reality. By raising the funds necessary to install a sprinkler system and showers, the church was able to secure a permit for a permanent shelter
We would like to especially thank Chef Steve Dinalais. Steve, with the support of his brother Mark prepared over 140 meals for the shelter all at his own time and expense. With Steve around we never had any worries about food service at the shelter.
Although the shelter has closed for the season, we will continue to pray for all of the wonderful people we encountered, as well as follow the progress of many of the guests that blessed us with their presence.
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