We Need Volunteers!
St. Blase will be hosting the Macomb County Rotating Emergency Shelter (MCREST) on the evening of August 4th thru the morning of August 11th.
Chairpersons of each committee are looking for individuals, couples, and families to join the efforts of our coordinators and host another successful week for our guests.
OVERNIGHT SUPERVISION: 4 individuals per night are needed to spend the night doing “walk throughs”, making sure guests are comfortable, sleeping and safe. 8 hour shifts 10 PM – 6 AM. Coordinator Diane Royer
LATE EVENING SHIFT: 8PM-10PM Shift needed to assist with the “in-between” time when the kitchen staff leaves and before the overnight shift begins.
TRANSPORTATION: To provide transportation to and/or from St. Blase for MCREST guests who do not have their own transportation, or are unable to use the public system. Coordinator Bob Mackstaller
CHECK-IN: To check in guests as they arrive each evening from 5:30 – 7:00 PM, checking in medications and electronics, determining specific guest’s needs for the evening, showing guests around and helping them locate where they will be staying for the night. Coordinator Pat Lenkner
LAUNDRY: To offer one or two nights, in the course of the week, for guests to have their personal laundry cleaned. One person needed to pick up clean laundry from laundromat and deliver to next destination on August 11th. Coordinator Karyn Rudzinski
KITCHEN: To provide dinner, breakfast, sack lunches and snacks for guests. Coordinators Cindy & Mike Melitz and Larry & Paula Gerbe
EARLY RISER: 6AM-8AM Shift needed to assist in waking up guests and distributing any medications.
FACILITIES: To prepare social center and gathering space for guests. Set up of bathrooms, smoking area, and dining area, set up and tear down of social center, and provide general cleanup on Sunday arrival and Sunday departure. Coordinator David and Michael Rudzinski
If you are interested in volunteering, please call the parish office at 586.268.2244
About MCREST
Begun in 1988 with the idea of a homeless day camp, in the past 30 years Macomb County’s Rotating Emergency Shelter (MCREST) has evolved to now provide meals, lodging, life-skills training, housing assistance, job readiness training, and emergency shelter 365 days each year to Macomb County’s homeless population.
There are now approximately 70 committed churches, from many denominations across Macomb County, who help to provide meals and lodging to the clients of MCREST. For 7 days each summer, from Sunday night to the next Sunday morning, St. Blase becomes a welcoming community where the love of Jesus Christ is lived and shared with up to 35 women and their children in need of food and safe shelter. Why do we do this? We are called to love as Jesus loved - to show compassion to those in need, to uphold the dignity, honor the diversity and respect the life of every individual in our community. We are blessed to be able to help to provide homeless and displaced individuals the opportunity for successful transition to independence!
HOW CAN YOU BE A PART OF THESE EFFORTS?
- Educate yourself about the invisible faces most affected by homelessness today.
- Pray for the homeless, for generosity and compassion in our community, for direction in how you can help respond to the needs.
- Donate food items for meals for our guests. Take a tag or two from the MCREST board that is placed in the gathering space one month prior to our guests’ arrival. Then return the item(s) to the parish office on the date indicated on your tag.
- Make a cash donation to be used for non-donated perishable food items and things such as bus tickets, gas cards and emergency items for our guests. A donation tower is stationed by the MCREST board in the gathering space and marked “MCREST Donations “ in the weeks leading up to our guests’ arrival.
- Become a volunteer during our hosting week. Only with generous gifts of time and talent from a large number of St. Blasé community members can we assist MCREST in serving the homeless. Pray about how you might give of yourself:
- Prepare our facilities the week before our guests arrive and/or assist in tear down and cleanup once our guests depart. (Social center, gathering space, bathrooms, dining space)
- Transport guests to/from St. Blasé, who don’t have their own transportation or are unable to use the public system.
- Check-In guests as they arrive each evening from 5:30-6:30 pm and assist them in getting familiar with the social center layout & restrooms.
- Assist in the kitchen with meal prep, serving and making lunches.
- Offer to do guests laundry one or two nights that week.
- Spend the night or a portion of the night from 8pm-6am, walking through the social center and making sure guests are comfortable, sleeping and safe. For more information, contact Lisa Grembi, Christian Service Coordinator at the parish office.
If you are interested in volunteering, please call the parish office at 586.268.2244