REGISTRATIONS are required to support the Greater Shepparton Winter Night Shelter, so that vulnerable locals will have access to a warm bed during winter.
The Winter Shelter provides 10 beds with the help of seven Shepparton churches and volunteers from June 1 until August 31.
“Currently we are looking for more volunteers this year, and I can only stress how wonderful the experience is for both parties,” said returning volunteer, Jan Borzillo.
“Having experienced the shelter last year being a volunteer. I think I got just as much out of it as our guests. It’s such an overwhelming experience.”
Guests receive a safe place to stay during the coldest months of the year and a hot meal. The Winter Night Shelter goes one step further to address barriers vulnerable people face, such as missing essential documents.
“Some of them are very lonely and some are very disconnected,” said Cr Kim O’Keeffe, who volunteers. “We are very mindful that they are very vulnerable, and we don’t want to smother them, dictate, or take control of their lives, but we certainly want to give them the opportunity to make some improvements.”
Project committee member, Mary-Ann Demase, said many skills are useful but the main requirement is to like people. During registration, volunteers choose hours and roles that suit them.
“Perhaps you have cooking skills, and you would like to provide food at night or perhaps you’d like to provide breakfast in the mornings, which is just a basic toast, tea and cereal,” she said.
This year, the shelter will include a lunch program.
“It’s really hard to take them out of a warm shelter, drop them off and say, ‘back to the cold,’” said Mary-Ann.
Greater Shepparton is estimated to have a rate of 5.56 homeless persons per 1,000 people, the highest in regional Victoria.
For information on volunteering, call Mel on 5821 2666.
Donations can be made at GoFundMe: https://bit.ly/38dOT3S.
Please see ‘Greater Shepparton Winter Shelter’ on Facebook for more.
