Bucks County homelessness: Shelter for those with no home seeks volunteers

Shelter for those with no home seeks volunteers in Bucks County

In the thick of winter, one Bucks County shelter has seen its number spike and is hoping for more volunteers to keep it running.

BRISTOL, Pa. - It is the thick of winter and with that, comes an even greater demand for homeless shelters. In Bucks County, one shelter is seeing the number of people in need more than double compared to last year.

Crystal Meyers, Program Consultant with Advocates for Homeless and Those in Need, said, "We’ve always called them guests because that’s respecting their dignity. They’re people like you and I."

The group, AHTN, has believed that since 2009. From the months of December to April, they’ve created a Code Blue shelter for adults without a home.

"The way that AHTN operates is when temperatures outside are 26 degrees or lower, with windchill, we call all hands-on deck," Meyers went on.

A team effort with lots of compassion for those facing their own storms. Meyers says dedicated volunteers are what keep the mission going. "So, before we can even open the shelter doors for the night, we need 18 volunteers to step up and cover positions starting at 7:30 at night until 7 a.m. We need people to help with intake on our buses to help bring the people in. We do have two vehicles that also provide transportation from different spots in Bucks County."

They take pride in giving each guest a dignified experience, welcoming them with the essentials, including a hot meal and a cot right at the door.

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"Let’s say that the night is very cold and they walk in without a coat," Meyers explained. "There may be some that come in with no shoes on. We have a supply room here where we do offer out to folks things they could use, whether it’s a jacket, hat, gloves, scarves, thermal underwear. Even toiletries. Some folks might come in and they don’t have deodorant."

Also offered is clean bedding, with clean pillows, blankets and sheets, keeping them in personal bags so each time they come in, they have their own fresh bedding to call their own. "We want to make sure we’re treating these guys with dignity and respect and the first line in that is making sure they have clean bedding every night."

At the Calvary Baptist Church, in Bristol, the folks with the Code Blue shelter say the demand for beds has spiked. This time last year, they averaged about 20 people a night, but now they are seeing 58 people in need.

"One day, we hope to be out of the business of homelessness, because we hope that we can help everyone. The way things are going, and especially with the economy and the way finances are, I don’t know how quickly that will happen," Meyers continued.

One of the hopes of the work is to also challenge the stigma around homelessness. "Most people think that those that are homeless are just lazy and, maybe, have alcohol issues or drug issues and that’s not always the case. We’re finding, here at our shelter, is a lot of mental health. We have a lot of people that are newly homeless and that’s the issue that they ran into was paycheck to paycheck and they fell behind."

With the increased demand, the Code Blue shelter asks for help – they need at least 18 people a night for the operation to flow.

"We need people who are able to come out and give a little bit of their time. We don’t have a quota of how much or how little," Meyers added. "Folks that are willing to come in with a little compassion."

Volunteer information can be found on the Advocates for Homeless and Those in Need website.