Community outpouring of support made nights safe

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Safe Nights is a voluntary program to house the homeless of Calvert County during the cold weather months. It houses those who cannot be accommodated for one reason or another in Project ECHO, the only permanent shelter in the County.

Safe Nights provided shelter from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. in church facilities for twenty weeks from November through March. It gave each homeless guest a safe, clean place to sleep, a hot evening meal and a complete breakfast. In many cases host churches also provided showers, laundry help, and games and entertainment.

We also provided spiritual support in the form of prayer and counseling. Some churches also provided financial assistance to get residents into permanent housing.

This past winter 62 separate individuals registered for Safe Nights, including 40 males, 22 females, and 6 children. They were referred by nearly every charity and government agency in the county. Some businesses, such as motels and newspapers, also referred guests to Safe Nights. After a background check was done to screen out anyone who might be potentially dangerous (eight were denied entry).

From November 2008 to March 2009, 35 Calvert County faith communities from every corner of our community participated. They sent more than 1,650 volunteers to help. Fifteen churches served as host churches, opening their facilities to the homeless and providing volunteers. Twenty more faith communities provided volunteers, transportation, food and money. This was the largest coordinated volunteer effort ever undertaken by the faith communities of Calvert County. It brought together every denomination and religious group in a common effort.

The whole Calvert County community owes a special thank you to Mary Ann and Joe Zaversnik who coordinated the program and trained the 1650 volunteers. They worked for nothing but the love of God and neighbor. The program ran flawlessly because of them.

We also thank the area agencies including Catholic Charities that did the weekday intake screening, Red Cross, which provided the cots, and United Way for a $500 grant.

Many individuals and churches also provided monetary gifts. I am particularly proud of the parishioners at St. John Vianney, who provided more than $4,000 to fund the program. Special thanks to St. Edmonds UMC for providing a van and driver for nine weeks this winter. Other churches also provided transportation.

Area businesses also participated. We also thank McDonalds, Panera Bread, World Gym and Northeast Community for their contributions.

Looking forward to next winter, we look for even greater participation in Safe Nights. The program will expand from 20 weeks to 22 weeks. Churches have already subscribed to host most of the weeks.

All of these public spirited individuals and groups made possible a necessary program. Safe Nights almost certainly saved lives by providing shelter in cold months. Charity like this is a hallmark of a compassionate community. The only disappointment in all this outpouring of effort and generosity was the failure of our county government to get involved. It is our hope that in the future the county will provide some form of assistance. We invite our public officials to take a more active part this coming winter.

Safe Nights is now incorporating as a separate, private, non-profit and non-sectarian corporation. Safe Nights will open an office at 440 Main Street in space donated by St. John Vianney Catholic Church late this summer.

We look forward to another year of service by the whole community to the homeless of our community.

The Rev. Peter J. Daly,

Prince Frederick

The writer is the pastor of St. John Vianney Roman Catholic Church.