Wake Interfaith Hospitality Network

2012 Dates
April 22 to April 29

Volunteer Information
 Dinner Menu and Meal Plan
 Van driver schedule for February 28 - March 7

Volunteer Job Guidelines and Procedures
 Here are instructions or guidelines on the volunteer jobs. Please read and see if you could help us. The files can be read online or printed for your convenience.
 
 Guidelines for meal hosts
 Guidelines for evening/ social hosts
 Guidelines for overnight hosts
 Van driver guidelines for evening trip to White Plains
 Van driver guidelines for morning trip to the Day Center 

Here are the guidelines for guests given to them on arrival to White Plains and other information volunteers need to know. Please read them if you volunteer. A copy of them is also available in the logbook where you sign-in in the Female Host Room 127 downstairs in the CLC as well. 
 
 General hosting policies and procedures
 White Plains UMC Guest Guidelines

General Daily Schedule
 Weekdays
 Van driver arrives at White Plains by 6:30AM to get guests to the Day Center by 7:00AM 
 Van driver arrives at White Plains by 5:00PM to pickup guests at Day Center by 5:30PM
 Dinner hosts arrive at White Plains by 5:45PM to setup for dinner
 Dinner is served between 6:00 and 6:15PM
 Evening hosts arrive by 7:00PM
 Overnight hosts arrive by 8:30PM
 Doors locked for the night at 10:00PM
 Lights out at 11:00PM
 Wake-up at 6:00AM
 Everyone leaves by 6:45AM
 
 Saturdays and Sundays
 The only schedule changes may be the times when the van should arrive at the Day Center in the mornings. Please confirm these times with the Transportation Coordinator or Primary Coordinator.

Contacts for Coordinators at White Plains for WIHN
 Primary Coordinator and Overnight Host Coordinator
 Patti Crane Phone Number 467-4230 or e-mail cranepatti(at)aol.com
 
 Primary Co-coordinator and Evening/ Social Host Coordinator
 Cheryl Phillips Phone Number 851-9336 or e-mail cherylphil(at)bellsouth.net
 
 Meal Host Coordinator and Laundry Coordinator
 Janis Hunsinger Phone Number 481-4585 or e-mail jvhunsinger(at)nc.rr.com
 
 Setup and Set-down Coordinator
 Eric Routh Phone Number 678-1133 or e-mail erouth(at)mindspring.com
 
 Supply Coordinator
 Contact Cheryl Phillips Phone Number 851-9336 or e-mail cherylphil(at)bellsouth.net

Van Driver Coordinator
 Jerry Letchworth Phone Number 467-0353 or e-mail cletchworth(at)nc.rr.com
 
 

WIHN or Wake Interfaith Hospitality Network is a mission begun as a response to the problem of homelessness in the US.
 
 Why should we be concerned about homelessness?
 
 Poverty and homelessness in the US is a problem that affects all of us.
 
 Nationally, over 12% of our population lives below the poverty line. That is 1 in 9 adults and 1 in 6 children. A poor child in the US is more likely to live in a working family than to be on government assistance, and more likely to live in a rural or suburban area than an inner city. A minimum-wage worker cannot afford fair market rent anywhere in the United States. 

Locally, over 19,500 people live below the poverty line with more than 2000 people homeless. Families make up 56% of the total homeless population, the fastest rising segment of the homeless population. Over 380 of the total homeless persons in our region are children with an average age of 9 years old. Therefore this problem is widespread and includes many persons and families of different types and situations.
 
 WIHN is here to help motivated homeless families who have lost housing, have jobs and need help to get back on their feet. 

I want to know more about:
 
 How WIHN is organized 
 WIHN is a private, nonprofit agency for Wake County. Professional staff provide families with daily, individual case management at a Day Center on Method Road. Each evening, two churches provide shelter, meals and transportation to up to five families each, serving up to ten families every night in the program. Each church commits to shelter families a week at a time, approximately once a quarter. There are 32 host and 16 support congregations in the Wake Network. White Plains has a support congregation- St Pauls Episcopal Church which assists us with volunteers and supplies. 

The Day Center
 While the families are in the program, the Day Center serves as the participants' or guests' address, home phone and central location for day-to-day activities. The children catch the school buses here and adults can access the public bus system as well. Computer access, workspace, laundry facilities, lockers for belongings, showers and lounges are available for guest use. Bedroom for sick or nightshift workers can be used as needed. 
 
 The Day Center staff interview potential families provide case management and counseling. Staff help guests to connect with the appropriate Social Service agencies for housing, medical care, etc. Congregations are supported with training, scheduling, and meetings with staff. Staff also secure funding, maintain the Day Center facility and promote awareness of the needs of the homeless in the community. There is a WIHN board which oversees the entire program and is responsible for Day Center staff.
 
 The Day Center is located at Method Road in Raleigh off of Western BLVD at the edge of the NC State campus. The mailing address is 903 Method Road Raleigh, NC 27606. The phone number is 832-6024.

How to volunteer
 There are many ways to help make WIHN at White Plains a success for any age volunteer. There are activities that can be done at anytime as well as during our host week by groups or individuals.
 
 I want to know how to help as a:

Preschool age volunteer
 We can pray. One of the most important things to do for WIHN is to pray. God needs to know that we need His help and that success in this program can only come through Him. We want to know His will for the volunteers, guests and staff of the WIHN program and we will only find this through prayer. Please ask your families to include WIHN in your prayers before, during and after WIHN weeks.

We can help make blank welcome cards for WIHN guest families. We are giving the families a welcome card on arrival to invite them to join us in church services and other appropriate events during the week. What we need is a half-page sized card that says Welcome to White Plains on the outside and is blank on the inside. We will make an insert that will be attached to the inside of the card that has all of the church information. It may be decorated any way you wish and should fit in a blank envelope to be labeled with the family's name to make it a personal invitation. (Blank cards with envelopes can be purchased in bulk at craft stores like A.C. Moore.) You can put finished cards in the Missions mailbox across from the bathrooms in the office wing of the church or contact a coordinator for other arrangements.

School age volunteer
 We can pray or make blank welcome cards for WIHN guest families. Please see the Preschool age volunteer section for instructions.
 
 We can help setup the classrooms for guest arrival. This is done around 2PM on the Sunday the guests come to the church. Foldaway beds are placed in classrooms and covered with mattress covers and sheets. Privacy curtains are hung in the windows and door windows covered. Clocks and tissues are placed in each family room. The middle room downstairs in the CLC is straightened up and arranged into a family room space. A kitchen area is setup with serving and seating tables, appliances placed in the kitchen and lunch preparation area assembled. This process can be completed quickly the more volunteers we have to help us. Please contact a coordinator to confirm the exact time for setup and let us know you are coming. This process is reversed the Sunday the guests leave prior to the Sunday school hour. Please arrive around 7AM to help.

We can help with evening/ social hosting as a group. This activity is most successfully completed by small groups. We try to provide the adult guests a chance to relax in the evenings by involving the guests' children in activities from 7:00PM to 8:30PM. The kids in the program usually have a wide age range and usually include both preschoolers and teens. Your group can plan 2 or 3 activities, such as coloring, building with blocks, or playing a group game to involve the young guest children. Your group should have at least 2 adults to help in case any problems arise, like a scrapped knee or bathroom visits. We have supplies including toys and craft material available for your use. You can also use the playground area or gym if it is available; just remember that if you offer more than one activity at a time that there is one adult with each group. (One adult with the part of the group that stays with the kids that want to keep coloring while the others go upstairs to play basketball.) We have readable and printable instructions or Guidelines for Evening/ Social Hosts for complete instructions. Also feel free to use these Contacts at White Plains for WIHN for answers to your questions. 

Teen volunteer
 We can pray or make blank welcome cards for WIHN guest families. Please see the Preschool age volunteer section for instructions.
 
 We can help setup classrooms for guest arrival or help with evening/ social hosting as a group. Please see the School age volunteer section for instructions.
 
 We can help at the Day Center by sorting donated supplies, such as clothes and dishes, etc. The Day Center staff can arrange a tour of the facilities and give instructions on what needs to be done. The Day Center receives these items all the time but does not have the staff to keep them sorted. The Day Center is not open at night, so all Day Center volunteering is done during the day. However, it is open on the weekends. You will need to contact Day Center staff to schedule your volunteer time at 832- 6024.
 
 We can help at the Day Center by doing yard work or other maintenance job. The Day Center cannot afford to pay a yard service and needs volunteers to complete these and other maintenance jobs. They also need other facility work, such as hanging shelves or other work that may qualify as a scouting project. (The lockers the families use for personal possessions were built as an Eagle Scout project.) Contact the Day Center to find out current needs at 832-6024.

Adult volunteer
 We can work along side our children and youth as an individual, family, or group.
 
 We can pray or make blank welcome cards for WIHN guest families. Please see the Preschool age volunteer section for instructions.
 
 We can help setup classrooms for guest arrival or help with evening/ social hosting as a group. Please see the School age volunteer section for instructions.
 
 We can also help by hosting overnight, driving a van for guests to the Day Center in the morning, driving a van to the church in the evening, or hosting a meal. For more details on these opportunities, please see the instructions or guidelines listed above.
 
 We can help by taking laundry and returning it to the church the following week. Contact the Laundry coordinator here. We can also use people to bring supplies to the church during the week as needed. Contact the Supply Coordinator here.

 We can help at the Day Center by sorting donated supplies or by doing yard work or other maintenance job. Please see the Teen volunteer section for instructions. The Day Center also uses volunteers to answer phones and other minor reception work. Please call the Day Center to receive Day Center training for this at 832-6024.

How to donate to WIHN
 WIHN does accept donations of household items and furniture. Large items are stored in storage sheds off site. You will need to contact the Day Center to arrange the details at 832-6024. The Day Center will take other items including clothes when they have space. Please call beforehand.
 
 WIHN is always in need of monetary donations. In addition to staffing, building maintenance, van maintenance, rollaway bed repair and utilities, the Day Center also has separate funds for guests' needs for bus passes, limited car maintenance assistance and interview clothes. Please contact the Day Center for further instructions at 832-6024.

How to apply to the program for help 
 WIHN can house:

•  couples with children
• single parents
• married couples without children
• single pregnant women

WIHN does work on an interview basis. If you are in need of shelter please call the Program Manager to check on availability and to schedule an intake appointment. All adult family members must be present for the interview and must have identification.
 
 If your family is accepted into WIHN's shelter program after an on site interview, we will then schedule a time for you to move into our program. This interview process typically takes at least 1-2 days.
 
 WIHN offers temporary housing for a period of 6-8 weeks while families strive to regain their independence. Housing is provided during daytime hours at a 'Day Center' and during the evening and overnight hours at one of many Wake County congregational facilities that are involved with WIHN.

WIHN provides:

•  24 hour shelter with private sleep rooms for each family
• 3 meals per day
• transportation to and from the day center and host facilities
• case management and referral
• voice mail for each family and telephone access
• access to computers and printers
• laundry facilities and detergent at no charge
• toiletries, diapers, and other day to day items
• evening educational classes on such topics as budgeting and finance, parenting, and health

WIHN requires that each family:

•  meet with staff once each week to complete goal planning
• attend the evening educational program each week
• complete an assigned chore daily
• be employed full time or be looking for stable employment
• have a TB test
• be actively searching for housing and working toward goals
• save the majority of their income toward housing

To apply for admission to WIHN call the Day Center at 832-6024 to schedule an interview. 

How to plan an informational meeting for my group
 You want to help with WIHN but you would feel better if you got more instruction. We can make a program that is tailored to your group's age and needs. From young children to adult, we will come to you and present a program that can include information on WIHN, make a card craft instruction, information on poverty, advanced training in guest relations, etc. We can do a 30 minute presentation or up to a ninety minute meeting with discussion. Just contact a coordinator at least a month in advance for planning.

Safe Sanctuaries and WIHN
 Safe Sanctuaries is a policy document all United Methodist churches have been asked to create for the protection of all persons in the church against abuse. This document has guidelines for volunteers and leaders of programs which have contact with children and vulnerable adults. 

The White Plains coordinators are working with Ministry Staff to determine how this policy will be implemented in WIHN. We do not anticipate any changes in volunteer policy at this time. 

Click here to read more about White Plains Safe Sanctuaries Policy. 
 

National Interfaith Hospitality Network organization 
 Link www.nihn.org