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Annual Coverage Week
It's that time of year again!
March 5th - 11th, 2023We need YOUR help to support our coverage week to provide volunteers for evening and overnights shifts.
Volunteer details are HERE
Signups at each Church OR online
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Urgent Coverage Help Needed!
It's the start of an Open Week Feb. 26th - Mar. 4th (where we don't have a Host Congregation) and still need you your help! Please check out the sign up HERE and say you'll come by!!
Thanks,
Sheri Linn
Director -
Join the IHN Transportation Tree!!
WE’RE LOOKING FOR DRIVERS TO ASSIST WITH TRANSPORTATION OF IHN FAMILIES TO SOCIAL SERVICES AND EDUCATIONAL EVENTS.
DAYS, TIMES, AND ACTIVITIES VARY
CALL SHERI (508) 755-2212 FOR MORE INFORMATION
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Upcoming Fundraiser:
WHEN: Thursday, March 9th, 2023
TIME: 4:00- 9:00 PM
WHERE: 537 Lincoln Street, Worcester, MA
PHONE: 508-459-4599
Please follow the special instructions to make sure IHN gets the contrinbution from your order
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IHN Celebrates Ten Years at June Street!
2022 marked TWO major milestones for IHN…
It’s our TEN-YEAR ANNIVERSARY in the house on June Street! We created a new anniversary and milestone by rebranding our organization with a new name, new upgrades and repairs to the house, made many new friends and volunteers and reconnected with old ones.
But our mission has stayed the same. Our ability to help families experiencing homelessness is because of the foundation you helped build. Thank you for what you have done to get us here, and thank you for being a part of the legacy!"To ease another's heartache is to forget one's own." - Abraham Lincoln
SEE OUR FLYER
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New Name - New Logo - Same Mission!
Click on the image for details!-
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Read more about the name change HERE
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WHY IT'S SAFE TO SERVE AT IHN:
We have been doing really well with covering a significant amount of shifts with volunteers to prevent congregations from paying for staff coverage. You all have been such a supportive team of volunteers during such a difficult time. I really do not know how to say how grateful I am. We are looking to grow our emergency volunteer list. If you know of anyone in your congregation that would like to be added to this list, please send them my way.
You can read my recent email on all the measures we are taking to keep everyone safe here.
We greatly appreciate ANY help you can offer!
IHN Family Shelter of Greater Worcester
91 June St. Worcester, MA 01602
Telephone: 508-755-2212
[email protected]
https://www.ihnworcester.org
You will find an update about how IHN is doing during this time of uncertainty here. We have been doing extremely well and I thought it would be great news to share and for you to be able to share with your volunteers. Please feel free to contact me with any questions that you might have.
We also just updated 2 documents:
Thank you for your generous support!!
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The IHN Mission
Working in partnership with its member religious congregations and other community groups, the IHN Family Shelter of Greater Worcester promotes self-sufficiency by providing temporary shelter, meals, and housing advocacy services to homeless families with children regardless of income and family structure.
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Catholic Free Press Articles about IHN:
Two articles about IHN were published in the January 29, 2021 edition. One was the cover story!
Read them here and be inspried to help in some way! -
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Join an IHN Team!
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Dear Member Congregations, Charter Board Members, Friends,We are reaching out to ask you to spread the word far and wide about our wonderful IHN Team Opportunities! Besides being a great way to volunteer together in a casual way with like-minded individuals from around the area, these teams are a necessary component to our program. We are in the business of supporting those families among us who find themselves without a place to lay their heads at night. The homeless issue is not going away soon, but the advocacy for these families is alive and strong within our program.
- House Team - Help us maintain our beautiful shelter, even if it's simply to reset a room after a family moves out, or put up a shelf, or organize a closet.
- Fundraising and Events Team - Help us raise funds to support our program through fun and exciting events like Trivia Nights, Walks, Galas, Auctions, Holiday Appeal Mailings. Can you secure donors? Write a grant? Get some in-kind donations for the shelter? Many hands make light (and FUN) work!
- Congregation and Volunteer Recruitment Team - Your neighbor may attend a church or be part of a group who would love to partner with another church or group to cover a volunteer week. Help us to recruit these people. Evening and overnight volunteers are what makes IHN a unique and special program for our guest families. Help us keep this important tradition alive.
- PR and Advertising Team - Website skills? Know your way around social media? Are you a graphic designer? Do you love to be in the limelight talking about something you're passionate about? Our PR and Advertising team needs a person like you!
Please let us know if you have an interest in being a part of our mission! Contact the Board Chair with questions, ideas, and interest! Spread the news! Word of mouth is the best of the best!We thank you for all you do for the IHN families and we look forward to working with you more and inviting in some new faces!!Sincerely,Deb Engvall
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IHN Background . . .
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Who We Are:The " In the Hour of Need" (IHN) Family Shelter of Greater Worcester works in partnership with the faith community to provide shelter and assistance to homeless families with children. The program’s primary goals are to assist families in increasing their income and to help them secure permanent housing, while providing the critical support services necessary for them to succeed. In addition to IHN staff, these support services involve approximately 1000 volunteers that come from the host and support congregations, as well as the community at large. Our program gives people the opportunity to become involved, to put their beliefs into action by providing hands-on mission work in their own community and to make a difference in the lives of families who are desperately in need.
The shelter is located at 91 June Street, Worcester, MA. It is a three story home and has the capacity to accommodate six families at any given time. The first floor of the building is handicap accessible. Check out their new website at http://www.ihnworcester.org/!
Volunteer Based Program:IHN partners with the religious community in a unique joint mission to serve and nurture the resident families (guests). Volunteers from 25 congregations rally together to give of their time and interest each week and to share in this unique community mission. Volunteers provide meals or grocery gift cards, diapers, wipes and other household supplies, companionship, support and moral encouragement. They provide 100 hours of program coverage each week for evening and overnight supervision for the program (5:30pm to 6:30am M-F; 5:30pm to 8:30am Sa-Su).
Volunteers dine with the families and stay during the evening to socialize, plan activities for the children, tutor children in need and provide caring, compassionate support to parents and children. One or two volunteers are recruited to stay overnight with the guests, sleeping privately on cots located in the Director’s office.
Volunteers are critical to the success of stabilizing families who are guests of the IHN program. Your involvement, commitment and advocacy enables IHN to help families at a fraction of the cost of traditional shelters and allows them to stay in a safe, secure and loving family-oriented environment.
A Current CORI form and signed Code of Conduct Acknowldegement Form are required. You must have taken the Safe Environment Training Course. More information on Safe Environment can be found here.
Sign-up:
Sign-up sheets will be put by the entrances at all churches the weeks before we are scheduled to cover. We will also post a sign up online.
Why do we serve the people at IHN?
We serve out of Love. This is what we do as church. It is what God wants. It is not for us, or even about us. It’s about them. It’s about walking with them, even if it’s just for an evening, on their journey to a better life. It is about Love. God is extending this invitation for you to go out and serve. Please look into your heart and pray about this opportunity to show God’s Love and Mercy.
If you have any questions, please contact our IHN coordinator Ed Romeo by phone at 339-221-3378 or e-mail: [email protected].Thank you for your fellowship and support!
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How We Help . . .
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House Coverage During Our Hosting Week:
For many years, St. Mary/St. Philip hosted the homeless families in the St. Mary Parish Hall. These families used to travel from church to church, town to town, each with all of their worldly belongings in plastic totes.
Since 2011, IHN has been supporting a residence on June Street in Worcester so that these families have a place to call home. The house is not far from Grafton and easy to get to (just off Chandler Street).
We do a special collection at the Masses the weekend before to provide food and supplies for the week we are at IHN. Your generous donations provide crictial funds for school supplies and clothing, as well as their day-to-day necessities.
We ask volunteers to be either an Evening Host or an Overnight Chaperone. Evening Host is there from 5:30pm-8:30pm; Overnight Chaperone is there from 8:30pm-6:30am Monday-Friday and 8:30pm-8:30am Saturday and Sunday.
Evening Hosts: Arrive at the house at 5:30pm. The guests prepare their own meals. The Host can bring their own meal so there are no concerns for dietary restrictions or food allergies. The Host can bring dessert, help with set up or clean up.
Most guests eat around 6pm, but some may be working or caring for an infant or at after-school activites. It is a great chance to play with the kids and get to know the people who live there. It’s a fun and social evening!!
Overnight Chaperones: Arrive at the house at 8:30pm to relieve the Evening Host. A Chaperone is there to let guests in, socialize with the guests and be on hand in case of an emergency.
Chaperones will sleep on a twin cot in the office. There are 2 cots if you would like to come as a couple or with a friend. Please plan to bring your own linens and your favorite pillow. Some volunteers just crash on the couch!
If there are any issues, the chaperone contacts the IHN staff to inform them. All contact information is provided in the Volunteer Handbook. In any kind of emergency, you would call 911 just like you would do at home. An IHN staff member will relieve you at 6:30am (8:30am on weekends).
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