CALVERT INTERFAITH COUNCIL
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Where Would You Go If… You Lost Your Home The Shelter Was Full The Air Was Cold There was Nowhere to Turn?
Safe Nights’ Mission: The Safe Nights program is dedicated to protecting the homeless from the cold by providing shelter in a clean and safe environment.
Safe Nights of Calvert County is an interfaith consortium of churches that open their hearts and homes to the homeless.The Safe Nights program brings together citizens from all faiths and civic organizations that are dedicated to a compassionate response to the plight of the homeless in Calvert County. Safe Nights Begins Season #5 November 6, 2011 – April 14, 2012
Safe Nights is beginning its 5th season of providing shelter to the homeless of Calvert County. Shelters are held in churches throughout the county 7 days a week from 7 pm to 7 am. Guests of Safe Nights must pass a background check and meet eligibility requirements. Anyone seeking shelter must call 443-486-8670 to schedule an appointment for an intake. Intake appointments will begin October 31, 2011. Safe Nights shelters will begin on November 6, 2011 and will end on April 14, 2012. Safe Nights is a 501(c) 3 non-profit corporation that is run entirely by volunteers who ask nothing in return except the pleasure of helping the less fortunate. When the pilot program was started in February and March 2008, we had 7 churches hosting shelters. Since that time, we have tripled in size. Now we have 24 churches hosting shelters. Each church provides shelter space, volunteers to staff the shelters, food, and bed and bath linens. In addition to providing cots, file storage and toiletries for the guests, Safe Nights provides training and oversight. Going into our 5th season, it has been a blessing to us to be associated with the hundreds of volunteers from all denominations, who give so freely to help those who are experiencing hard times. One example are those churches who contribute their church vans and drivers to transport the guests from Prince Frederick to the outlying churches that stretch from Lusby to Dunkirk and back to Prince Frederick. Without the transportation support, the shelters would be empty. We have to give a special thank you to St. Edmond’s UMC and Trinity UMC who have provided the majority of our transportation. Additional transportation is needed. If there is a church who wishes to volunteer a van and driver? We would be happy to work out the logistics. We also want to thank those churches and organizations who assist the host churches with volunteers and food. We can always use volunteers and funds. You can reach us at 443-486-8670 or by e-mailing safenights@sjvc.us. We want to offer our thanks to all of our volunteers who have given and continue to give so freely of their talents and time. We also want to thank, in advance, any of you who wish to help us continue this humanitarian effort. Our prayer and hope is that one day there will be no need for homeless shelters. Until that time comes, programs like Project ECHO and Safe Nights will fill that need.
What Does Safe Nights Provide? Host shelters provide a warm bed and three nutritious meals (breakfast, dinner and a bag lunch) in a safe environment. Safe Nights Shelter Hosts All Saints Episcopal Church Bethel Way of the Cross Church Calvary United Apostolic Church Calvert County Baptist Church Chesapeake Church Dunkirk Baptist Church Emmanuel Baptist Church First Lutheran Church Full Gospel Assembly of God Church Grace Brethren Church Greater Mt. Zion Church Healing and Deliverance Church Jesus the Divine Word Catholic Church Middleham/St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Mt. Harmony United Methodist Church Patuxent United Methodist Church Peters United Methodist Church St. Edmond’s United Methodist Church St. John Vianney Catholic Church St. Nicholas Lutheran Church St. Paul’s Episcopal Church St. Paul United Methodist Church Smithville United Methodist Church Trinity United Methodist Church
Additional congregations provide assistance with meals, transportation and staffing . It takes many hands to make this community-wide effort possible, and many more hands will help to lighten the load. All faith congregations from across Calvert County are encouraged to play a part in Safe Nights. Safe Nights Assisting Congregations
What Are The Shelter Hours? Shelter hours are from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., 7 days a week, beginning in November and ending in March or early April. Program beginning and ending dates may vary.
Who Qualifies for Safe Nights?
How Do Individuals Register?
Safe Nights of Calvert County Located on Main St. in Prince Frederick Call (443)-486-8670 By Appointment Only, 9.00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Walk Ins Not Accepted
A one-time in person registration is required for the season.
Transportation, to the extent possible, will be provided from Prince Frederick to the outlying areas.
Where does Safe Nights find support and funding for the program? Safe Nights is a volunteer-driven program, but there are still expenses for transportation and supplies. Monetary donations help offset those expenses, and are 100% tax deductible. Safe Nights a non-profit. 501(c)(3) corporation.
Additional Needs:
"Think of giving not as a duty but as a privilege.” John D. Rockefeller, Jr. General Information and Registration, please call: (443) 486-8670 E-Mail Safenights@sjvc.us
Without Volunteers Safe Nights could not exist!
Here are some ways you can help out: Setup and Breakdown Shelters: Assist in setting up and taking down cots and tables and chairs.
Preparing Food: You may be asked to prepare food at home and bring to the shelter, or help prepare the food in the shelter kitchen. Breakfast is served at 6:00 a.m. and Dinner is served at 7:30 p.m. You can also make bag lunches to be handed out after breakfast.
Serving Food: Food servers usually are asked to arrive an hour before breakfast and dinner is to be served. Some host churches have the food brought to the shelter, and some prepare the food at the shelter. You will assist in getting the meal ready and serving the meal. Be an Overnight Monitor: As a monitor, you get to know those we are serving. While you are there to greet the guests, you also have responsibilities to enforce the rules. All volunteers who have contact with the guests receive training and sign a confidentiality agreement. One male and one female Monitor must be present while guests are at the shelter. Monitors serve a full shift from 6:30 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. or partial shift, usually, from 6:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. or 12:30 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. Monitors greet the guests, check their paperwork, and have them sign in, receive their medication and log it in. The monitor ensures that the guests follow the rules, and documents any incidents that happen on their shift. In the event of an emergency, they call 911 and notify the host coordinator. As volunteers, we do not have the ability to solve all of the guest’s problems. We leave that to the social workers. We ask that you treat all guests with respect and courtesy, but set boundaries. If a guest needs help, refer them to an agency that can assist them, or let the host coordinator know. Cleaners: Shelters need cleaning too. Volunteers will be asked to clean the bathrooms and tidy up the shelter room. Laundry: At the end of each shelter week, all of the bed and bath linens need to be washed at the local laundromat. Transportation of Supplies: Up to 20 cots and 20 bins with linens need to be transported to each shelter. Transportation of Guests: We are always in need of church vans or buses to transport the guests from Prince Frederick to the outlying churches and return on a daily basis. We are also in need of volunteers with CDL licenses. There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.
Contact Information: 443-486-8670
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