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Blessed
Sacrament Shelter
News
1/02/00.
Fr. Cregan sent a letter to the parish to announce that the Shelter will
open on January 8, and run every Saturday until Carpenter's Shelter ends
its hypothermia program (probably March).
12/16/99.
Blessed Sacrament held a meeting with the parish about the new shelter.
Attendies included Fr. Cregain, Blessed Sacrament Pastor; Maureen Dowling,
School Principal; Cathie Desmarais, PTO President; Fran Becker, Director
of Carpenter's Shelter; and Larry Roberts, Carpenter's Shelter Hypothermia
Program coordinator.
This meeting
addressed many concerns of the community, especially parents of school
children.
12/15/99.
Maureen Dowling sent the following letter to all parents of children at
Blessed Sacrament's School:
THE HOMELESS
SHELTER AT BLESSED SACRAMENT CATHOLIC COMMUNITY
"Lord, when
did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,
and not minister to your needs?" He will answer them, "Amen, I say to
you what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for
me." Mt. 26, 44-45.
As the Blessed
Sacrament community prepares to open its doors to house the homeless during
the winter months, many questions have come from our parents. Along with
a desire to reach out to those in our larger Alexandria community, there
is a natural concern about the safety of such a venture and how it will
affect the school. At the December PTO meeting information from those
in charge of the shelter was shared with the parents. Some of the questions
parents and staff have had are listed below. We hope this will allay some
of your concerns but should you have any additional questions, please
attend the open forum meeting on Thursday, December 16 at 7:30 p.m. in
Quinn Hall.
Why do we need
a shelter?
The City of Alexandria provides for the homeless population through the
Carpenter's Shelter. However over the past two years, the homeless population
has increased dramatically especially families in need. As the main shelter
provides for families first, it is the single homeless man who can find
himself without a bed. Several churches in the city are offering space
on an emergency basis for these men when a hypothermia condition exists
(32 degrees or lower temperature) or if it is raining.
When will the
shelter open?
The parish is still organizing volunteers for staffing and will not open
until there are sufficient people to do this. The projected date is after
Christmas.
Who will staff
the shelter?
Carpenter's shelter will provide one professional staff member at all
times. The remaining staff will be parish volunteers. Michael O'Brien
of our parish is coordinating this effort and welcomes anyone who would
like to help. He will be working with the Knights of Columbus and students
at the Episcopal Seminary to assist.
What hours
will the shelter be open?
The shelter will be open from 7:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m. No client is allowed
on the premises at any other time. Should they be found here, the police
will be called and Carpenter's Shelter will be informed. The client will
lose all future privileges to homeless services in the city.
Who will come
to the shelter?
Blessed Sacrament will provide shelter for 10 to 15 men. Carpenter's Shelter
will select the men to be sent to Blessed Sacrament each night. They will
arrive by taxi. An official list of names of who is to be admitted will
be sent to Blessed Sacrament each night. Anyone who is not on the list
or walks in and asks for shelter will not be admitted but sent to Carpenter's
Shelter. We do not anticipate "walk-ins."
How are these
men selected?
A supervisor from Carpenter's Shelter will personally select the men and
give them a breathalyser test. Those men who they know they can trust
and believe will present no problems will be sent to Blessed Sacrament.
Any client who has had problems or they are unsure of, will be kept at
Carpenter's Shelter.
Is there any
insurance liability?
Anyone sent from the Shelter is covered under the Carpenter's Shelter
insurance policy and will pose no liability for Blessed Sacrament.
Who will clean
up the room for school use?
Blessed Sacrament School uses the Multi-purpose Room only once a week.
The shelter volunteers will see that the Multi-purpose Room is returned
to its usual state after all the men have left.
How will this
impact our children's safety?
Carpenter's Shelter has notified the Alexandria City police about Blessed
Sacrament being a temporary shelter during the winter months in order
that the police will be more alert to patrolling the area. Since the shelter
does not operate during school hours, there should be no direct impact.
However, there have been ongoing concerns about overall school security.
This has prompted extra precautions to be put into place. (See attached
memo.) It also means that parents should be more watchful of their children
after school hours and more careful to follow the new security measures
and those already in place. As Blessed Sacrament Parish is not a closed
facility, it is accessible to the public throughout the day. Thus, the
new security measures will enhance our children's safety at all times.
What has been
the experience of other churches who have had a shelter?
The process set up by Carpenter's Shelter has allowed for a very smoothly
working program. St. Clement's, which has a preschool, has done this for
several years and has had no incidents of any kind and has never had to
report any of the men who have used their facilities.
10/11/99.
Shelter Is Proposed to Blessed Sacrament Pastoral Council.
See council
report, origional proposal, and request from Carpenter's Shelter to Fr.
Cregan at http://bsforum.org/101199.htm
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