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Features Department: 252-6180

1CAugust 2, 1997

Churches working to help homelessNetwork of Shelter

churches would d ·provide housing lr~ctor

pralsesproposal

ByTodd R. SvanoeWisconsin State Journal

Madison churches arejoining a nat iona l movement to provide tempo

rary housing for homelessfamilies.

The Interf?Ah HosRit<illtY.Network. would bring togethermore than a dozen local

churches to share the responsi bil ity of accommodating familieswho have no pl ace to st ay.

"We're asking 13Madison

congregat ions to open the irchurch doors and convert exist

ing space to overnight housing,"said the Rev. Harvey Pet ers, senior pas tor ofMadison's LutherMemorial Church.

IVf.as:!son:s.lnterfai th.Hospi tali ty Network would be simi lar t o

networks set up i n 71c iti es nat ionwide that have helped 30,000people since 1988, says New Jersey founder Karen Olson.

For one week about everythree months a church would become an after-hours home to a

homeless famil y. From 5 p.m. to7 a.m. a family would eat andc-1a.ar\. 1)+ tho. nhH~nh A 1 " " " .• .•;C>'h;r.~

Noone has to tell Les Stromthat t radi tional wel fare didn' twork.

As director of Transitional

Housing Inc. and Madison's larges t homeless shel ter at Grace

Episcopal Church, 116W.Wash

ington Ave ., he i s int imate ly acquai nted wit h the people itfailed.

But neit her is t he "one si ze fi tsall" Wisconsin Works welfare

program adequate t o address therange of needs of the poor, hesays.

That's why Strom is enthusiast ic about the Interfai th Hospi tal i ty Network. "Only the diverseasset s of the community offai thwil l provide the backup helpwe'l l need in Sept ember when W2 becomes official.

" I think you'l l be surprisedhow many people will want tosponsor thi s e ffor t," Strom told

lay leaders recently. "People inMadison are concerned about t hehl'\mCllcl.(~C' "

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S ta1 e Jo ur na l p ho to /JOSEPH W . J ACKSON I II

Alesia Jackson, 35, along with her daughter and grandson, await an interview with a social worker this week at

the YWCA, 101 E. Mi ff li n 81.Famil ies such as Jackson's would be served by the Interfai th Hospital ity Network ,

which helps famil ies - the most rapidly growing population of homeless people.

ner also would sleep over duringthat time.

A social worker, hired bythenetwork, would be responsiblefor screening homeless candidates - nosubstance abuse, forexample - and supervise a separate day site fromwhich the children would goto school andparents would goto work or continue their search for jobs andhousing.

"This isnot just a housing

program," Peters told lay leadersgathered recently at Lake EdgeUnited Church of Christ. "Thegoal isto movethese families asquickly as possible toward selfsufficiency."

Peters, who participated inthe nation's first Hospitality Net-·work while living in Summit,N.J., has introduced the model toMadison churches in four meetings since April.

Volunteers from St. Dunstan'sEpiscopal, Mount Olive Lutheran, Lake Edge UnitedChurch ofChrist and Luther Memorial are leading the effort tobuild the network with interested churches, to secure a daysite and toobtain a van.

A network would serve threeto five families at a time - themaximum number a van willtransport to and from the daysite. A "buddy church" wouldjoin a host church ona givenweek, providing volunteers to setup network-provided cots, supplysupper and breakfast, and sleepovernight.

''I'm fascinated with themodel," said Susan Quigley, outreach coordinator at Bethel Lutheran Church. "I'm especiallyexcited about how itwould engage people in issues ofpublicpolicy regarding affordable housing."

Cheryl Horne, director of

human concerns at Our LadyQueen ofPeace Catholic Church,found herself sitting next to twomembers of a neighboringchurch at the organizationalmeeting.

"I'd like to explore the possibility ofa partnership withMount Olive Lutheran Church,participating together in ourneighborhood," she said.

Organizers hope to draw in at. least 13churches and to have$39,000budgeted to kick offtheprogram bySept. 29.

"Volunteers are at the heartofthe network program," wroteInterfaith HosRitality Networkfounder Karen Olsonilla letterto the Mad~isonnetwork. "Seeing

the face of homelessness firsthand, individuals and congregations are motivated to createother initiatives."Jesse Davis, who helps man

age anEau Claire network established in 1995,confirms this.After filling in for a week ofovernight shifts, she became attachedto one family in particular, shesays. "Now they know I'll baby-·sit whenever they need me."

The Eau Claire networkserved 54families in 1996.It hasa full~time director, Davis, and apart-time staff member. Its annual budget is $66,000,which isnow generated by contributionsand a state grant.

While Davis' experience withthe network has been positive,

she says at times she has reservations about the daily shufflingthe model requires from the hostchurch tothe day site and back."I think about what i t must belike for the families to have theirlives so scheduled out."Paul Ashe, director ofthe

meal program at Luke House andthe St. Paul's Catholic Center inMadison, agrees. "Nobody asksthe poor what they want," hesays. "That's what being poor

means: losing your choices."But Madison network core

group member GailLoder ofSt.Dunstan's Episcopal sees it differently. "To me, it's like gettingup and going towork every day. Idothat and I don' t f ind itverydisruptive. It's better than beingon the streets."

Strom should know.Transitional Housing has a da

tabase of 1,500volunteers from 50churches in Madison who willserve at the Transitional Housinghomeless shelter this year alone.Even more serve the meal program at Luke House and St.Paul's Catholic Church, accordingto its director, Paul Ashe.

"It's the best-kept secret inMadison," says Strom. The volunteer commitment is so strong thatwhen a visiting church youth

group fromMilwaukee asked toprepare and serve a meal attheshelter this summer, the scheduled church refused togive uptheir night. "Being involved wasthat important to them."

In fact, because the InterfaithHospitality Network would servethe nation's most rapidly growingpopulation ofhomeless peoplefamilies ofmostlywomen andchildren - some expect i t to attract a greater number offemalevolunteers.

"It appeals towomen becauseit's families and it's in our own

church neighborhood," says SuScheuerman ofLake Edge UnitedChurch ofChrist, 4200BuckeyeRoad.

There will be more opportunity and need for nurturing, shesays. "You can get right in thereand pick up a baby."

But while such volunteerismmay bode well for the network'sfuture, lay leaders warn against a

Please see DIRECTOR, Page 6C

For informationabout how you canget involved in or to

v iew a v ideo about the Inter

faIthR~ital ity. Networ:!5,cal lLaura at 238-4386 or Gail a t

238-7738.