My Experiences at the Shelter

Reflective Journal

This is a brief description of my wonderful experience volunteering at a P.O.R.T. homeless shelter.   P.O.R.T stands for "People Offering Resources Together" and they are just one small subdivision of the "Living Interfaith Network" (LINK).

The first night I arrived two hours early at the shelter.  I was leery of traveling in the dark to an unfamiliar place.  Parkview United Methodist Church was the destination. It was located off Briarfield road in Newport News.  My eight-year-old son Jared  accompanied me.  While we waited, he used the last hours of sunlight to whiz around the parking lot on the skates he received for his birthday.

A couple hours later, the doors opened and an elderly gentleman, who was busy fixing a broken coffee maker, greeted us.  As we waited for the other volunteers to arrive, we were given a tour of the church.  We saw a small kitchen, a moderately sized fellowship hall filled with foam mattresses, and several blocked off passageways.  In the fellowship hall, we noticed an old television set and several stacks of heavy woolen blankets.

A short while later, Louise Moore and her grandson Lee arrived.  Louise is the organizer of this church's P.O.R.T program.   I found her to be quite pleasant.  Louise had broken her hip several months ago and is forced to use a walker.  Soon afterward, Len arrived.    Len is a man in his early fifties who volunteers every night.  I liked him instantly.  He was funny, kind and very pleasant.  His physical appearance reminded me of Morgan Freeman.  I am not sure if Mr. Freeman has a brother, but Len definitely fit the bill.

Jared and fifteen-year-old Lee became fast friends.  Our prep routine was to mark clear trash bags with numbers.  The numbers would correspond to the owner's nametag.   We collected the guest's belongings and placed them in these bags.    We locked them in the back hallway.  Lee did not hesitate to show Jared "the ropes."    Before long, Jared was the "bag boy."  At six o'clock sharp, the first guests arrived.   To enter, they had to show valid identification and not be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.   My job was to sign in the guests and check their belongings.  I had to take the name, social security number and age of all those entering and record the information into the log.

While the check in process commenced, members of other churches arrived with food.  I learned that every night a different church would provide the meal.  On this first night, it was Ashbury Baptist Church.  The kitchen was a whirling mass of older ladies; the men had the task of frying fish on the tailgate of an old pickup that they had parked outside the kitchen's backdoor.  The Ashbury youth group had the job of serving the meal.  There was no shortage of help this night.   Looking back, I am glad because it gave me the opportunity to watch and learn.   While we cleaned up after the supper meal, the guests grabbed their mattresses.  The women had a separate room to sleep in.

For the rest of the evening we played cards, watched television and talked.  Jared became distraught when we learned that children must be at least fourteen to stay overnight as volunteers, so I could not stay the first night.  At the ten o'clock lights out, I dragged Jared's tired little body out to the car.  He slept all the way home.

The other nights at the shelter went as the first one with check-ins, food deliveries and many guests.  Jared stayed at home or spent the night with friends.  Many of the faces from the previous days returned.  I helped heat food, serve the guests and clean up.  The time passed quickly.  The highlight of one evening was when a young, teen-helper played her violin for the crowd.  It was not long before the 9:00 pm shift arrived.   Night shift was the hardest.  I had to stay awake for the entire night.  Normally, a volunteer would only work a few hours.  In the interest of my time constraints, I chose to do the long haul.   At 2:00 am, a new group of volunteers came to relieve the the second shift.  At 5:30 the breakfast team arrived.  By this time I was pretty tired.   I usually left shortly after breakfast.

The time I spent volunteering passed very quickly.  The expierence was something I will never forget.   The time Jared and I  spent together at that shelter, we will always treasure.   I am so glad we had this opportunity to help other people  and I hope we never take for granted all the wonderful blessings God sends us.

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