"Whatsoever you do for the lest of my brothers,
that you do unto me..."

~Based on Matthew 5:3-12"

Macomb County Rotating Emergency Shelter (MCREST) Activities

St. Blase participates in this homeless shelter for one week during the summer months by providing daily meals, a place to sleep and shower, and transportation to jobs, training programs and other day sites. The success of the shelter rests on the response from the parish. Watch the bulletin or this site for specifics regarding this ministry. Contact Mary Dumm through the Parish Office at (586) 268-2244.

It’s that time of year again as we begin planning for our annual week of hosting the Macomb County Rotating Emergency Shelter (MCREST). The chairpersons of each of the committees have begun to coordinate their efforts for another successful week. Each committee is again looking for individuals to meet the tasks of each day, so we are asking the parish community to consider being involved with MCREST. If you feel called to this ministry, then contact Mary Dumm through the Parish Office and your name will be passed on to the appropriate chairperson. For those of you who signed up to help out with MCREST last Fall with the Time and Talent Program, please know that the committee chairpersons will be calling you to see what area you’d like to be involved in.

• TRANSPORTATION:
  To provide transportation to or from St. Blase for MCREST guests who do not have their own transportation or are unable to use the public system. Hours are approximately 4:00-6:30 PM and 6:30-8:00 AM.
• SCREENING & PROCEDURES (INTAKE):
  To check-in guests as they arrive, body searches (training is provided), checking medications, and determining guests needs. Hours are approximately 5:30–7:00 PM.
• OVERNIGHT SUPERVISION:
  At least 4 individuals per night are needed to spend the night doing walk-throughs, making sure guests are not disturbing each other, etc. 4-hour or 8-hour shifts are available.
• LAUNDRY:
  To collect towels and washcloths on a daily basis and have them laundered; to offer at least once in the course of the week an opportunity for guests to have their clothes laundered; and to have bedding ready for pickup.
• FACILITIES: (setup)
  To make sure social center, gathering space, bathrooms, and smoking area are set up and ready in time of guests’ arrival; to pack up mattresses, bags, etc. and provide general cleanup when guests leave.
• KITCHEN:
  To provide dinner, breakfast, and sack lunches for guests.
• DONATIONS/PUBLICITY:
  To provide advertising of MCREST through bulletin articles, posters, etc.; to provide a “donation board” that will enable parishioners to donate necessary items for the week of MCREST and to help organize these items once they’ve been donated.

MCREST NEEDS BOARD
MCREST is right around the corner and I am so looking forward to spending a week helping feed and shelter those who are less fortunate than we are. Again this year I asm asking for your generous support. You will soon see donation boards up in the gathering space asking for all kinds of donations from food to cash for bus tickets. Our guests would really appreciate if you could take a tag or two. Please remeber to ATTACH your tag to your donated item. This allows us to determine what our needs continue to be as we go through the week. This is one area where our parish really shines in living our our parish mission of being "A Welcoming Catholic Community where the love of Jesus Christ is learned and lived, sung and shared." Thanks in advance for your support!

MCREST Diary - July 2006

This year went very well. We started out with 14 women, 14 men and 2 children, a two-year-old girl and a 9 month old boy. All of the volunteers made such a fuss over them. As the week progressed we saw several guests get their own places. It is such a pleasure to watch as they eagerly prepared for the next chapter in their lives. The joy and pride that is shown on their faces reaffirms the reason I have been so involved in this ministry.

There were a couple new policy changes within MCREST this year. One of the noticeable changes was a separate area to screen in our female guests, which offered a considerable amount of privacy for them. We also implemented a logbook for our guest’s personal items, such as cell phones and CD players, which allowed us to ensure their items were well secured.

Andrea Byrne is stepping down as laundry coordinator. If anyone is interested in taking over for her, please let her know. A very special thank you is given to Andrea for all her years of dedication and tireless work. It has been an honor to work with her.

The most important behind-the-scene change this year is two new chairpersons. Barb Francis and Michele Dreer will be assuming the responsibilities next year. I have been involved with MCREST since my baptism at the Easter Vigil, 2000. In May, 2003, Sr. Megan McElroy asked if Diane and I would be interested in taking over as chairpersons for the MCREST program. We agreed without hesitation. Diane stepped down in 2004 and I continued on for two more years. This year I step down. I feel it is time for someone else to place their own touch on this ministry. While I will be offering advice to Barb and Michele next year, I will only be there for the transition. It has been an honor to work with everyone over the years. I am truly blessed to be part of this community. I look forward to my next adventure at church. What that is I
am not quite sure. Until then, parish council should keep me busy.

A program of this magnitude cannot happen without the help of all the individual coordinators and volunteers who make this program such a success. I would like to thank our MCREST coordinators for their leadership and dedication.

• Intake: Paty Lenkner,
• Kitchen: Cindy Willman and Denise Porcasi,
• Facilities: Joanne Eklund,
• Overnight Supervision: Denise Violette,
• Transportation: Bob Mackstaller,
• Laundry: Andrea Byrne,
• Co-Chairs: Barb Francis and Michele Dreer

There were almost 200 volunteers who donated their time during the week of MCREST to help set-up, take-down, do intake, cook meals, make lunches, transport guests, do laundry, overnight supervision and provide many other services to our guests. There were countless
others who donated goods from the MCREST board. We could not have done this without YOU.

See you in church,
Tom Royer

MCREST Diary—July 2005
Our week was very successful. The guest count was down this year. We averaged 23 guests each night, and I am hoping that the count was down due to good fortune for them. Most had jobs this year and were well on their way to a successful life. Luggage was donated, a drawing was held and the winners were truly appreciative. On Saturday we held a euchre tournament consisting of three tables. Our guest Crystal, and one of our volunteers, Pat Kase walked away with bragging rights. Saturday night topped off a great week for all involved—
guest and volunteers.

There are so many people to thank this year I apologize to all who took time out of their busy lives to help me out and that I fail to recognize. These include everyone who took tags off the donation boards. Without your generosity, we as a community couldn’t make the week as comfortable for our guests as we do. This community is so generous that I am in awe of your kindness and compassion.

I would especially like to thank all of my chairpersons who worked behind the scenes. (They have been doing this job longer than I; they are the people who really make MCREST week a success; I am just the figurehead.)

Pat Lenkner, Denise Porcasi, Cindy Willman, Joanne Eklund,
Denise Violette, Bob Mackstaller, Andrea Byrne

So many of our guests expressed how different it was to be in our parish. Many were surprised to find out they were welcome at mass. It is sad that there are still people who judge and label.

I need to give special thanks to everyone who took time to poke fun at me, and allowed me to poke fun at them. The week of MCREST I had the opportunity to laugh with everyone, but mostly at myself because of the practical jokes. I wish I had the words to express to you how much I needed that. It reminded me of how blessed I am to be part of this community, and I thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart.

To Father Randy, Mary Dumm, Jim Sossi, thanks for allowing me special overnight privileges. It made the long days at work, and nights at church much easier on me, thank you.

Again, let us continue to keep our guests in prayer.
May God bless them on their journey.
Tom Royer

About MCREST (Macomb County Rotating Emergency Shelter Team)

St. Blase participates in this homeless shelter for one week during the summer months by providing daily meals, a place to sleep and shower, and transportation to jobs, training programs and other day sites. The success of the shelter rests on the response from the parish. Contact Tom Royer through the Parish Office at (586) 268-2244.

HISTORY
Until 1988, many of the homeless from Macomb County were forced to go to Oakland County for shelter due to the lack of sufficient number of overnight shelter beds in our County. At that time, the Macomb County Rotating Emergency Shelter Team (MCREST) was formed as a coalition of Churches willing to shelter the homeless in their buildings. This coalition of Churches began to provide overnight shelter for homeless persons and/or families during the coldest winter months. During the first year, twenty-three Churches participated in the program and provided for only the very basic needs of the homeless during the most severe weather.

MCREST is unique in that the homeless are actually sheltered in each participating Church, not a permanent shelter building. Linens, beds, and other needed equipment and supplies are provided by the organization and are actually transferred each week from Church to Church by the Churches.

The MCREST Board of Directors continually strives to recruit additional participating Churches. For the 2003 year, we provided shelter for all 52 weeks with 80 Churches actually housing the homeless, with two Churches running concurrently for 32 weeks during the season. Many Churches that house the homeless have other local Churches help with food, transportation and overnight help during their week. During the coldest and hottest months of the year, up to 60 men, women and children of all ages are sheltered every evening.

We have been honored to have a tribute to MCREST published in the Congressional Record of the United States of America to celebrate our tenth anniversary and have recently celebrated our 15th anniversary.

MISSION AND GOALS

MCREST was founded to provide temporary shelter for the homeless in Macomb County who agree to remain alcohol and drug free during their time in the program. Participating Churches agree to open their facilities and their hearts to the homeless for a period of one week per year and provide a safe, clean environment from 6:00 p.m. each evening to 8:00 a.m. each morning. They further agree to provide: three meals per day, showers, and, when possible, laundry assistance and transportation, especially for those who are working. MCREST works with other service organizations in attempting to enable guests to plan for and implement permanent solutions to their situation.

While our dream is to no longer be needed because every person has a home, our experience over the years has taught us that the homeless will be with us for a long time to come. Our goals, therefore, are to be able to provide shelter throughout the year and to provide as many beds as needed for the homeless in Macomb County. Although we provide shelter for 35 to 60 persons almost every night, we are usually full and must turn people away. In May of 1998 MCREST moved into its own building at 145 Colonial Court, Mount Clemens, MI 48043. We have two full-time and one part-time Case Workers, a Program Information Specialist, an Executive Director and most recently, a part-time Case Manager to work with the participants in our Choose A Path (CAP) program. The CAP program is a 90-day program for up to ten participants who work with our Case Manager to set goals and reach outcomes towards self-sufficiency. Measurable outcomes for this program reached 42% for those who obtained housing. The norm is 15% for an emergency shelter.

From the MCREST website.