Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Stanislaus County

Homeless Task Force Annual Report - 2011

The "Homeless Year" starts in November, a little later than the school year, when it gets too cold to sleep along Dry Creek. Our congregation was very active last year in assisting the homeless. Some of our accomplishments:

• We supported the Church of the Brethren for the Family Promise Program. We take turns acting as hosts when the homeless families in that program stay at their church.
• We collected winter clothing to benefit those in the shelter. It went to shelter residents and to Inter-Faith Ministries.
• We ran a year-round clothing drive, with clothing going to Inter-Faith Ministries and United Samaritans Foundation.
• We cooked and shared dinner with about 160 residents (up from 120 last year) of the Salvation Army Shelter at 9th and D streets in Modesto one night a month from November to April. (See below.)
• Our Youth prepared personal care packets for the Modesto shelter residents. Congregation members donated soap, shampoo, toothpaste, etc., Our young people packaged them up and distributed them to the shelter residents.

Feeding the Homeless in Modesto

From November through April, this sub-group of the Social Action Committee served bountiful and nutritious meals on the second Monday of each month to between 150 and 160 residents at the Modesto Shelter. We planned and prepared as carefully as we would for guests in our own homes.

With the exception of Christmas, we served a standard menu each month. Dinner begins with a cup of hot broth. Then we serve tenderloin of pork roasted with rosemary, applesauce, fried rice, corn O'Brian, green salad with choice of dressings (ranch is a favorite), roll and butter, brownies with a scoop of ice cream for dessert, lemonade and milk. We use fresh lemons when someone's tree is in fruit.

For Christmas, we served roast turkey with homemade cornbread stuffing and cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes (not instant) and gravy, spiced yams, rolls and butter and a selection of Christmas cookies.
See some pictures.

Every month we included a bottle of water and a piece of fruit for each resident for the next day.

Over 65 members and friends of UUFSC participated. Bill, Aynslie and Adlai led our efforts. They are the kind of leaders who say "Follow me!", not the kind who tell people "Charge!". They shopped for groceries and prepared part of the meals on Sundays. On Mondays others joined them in the kitchen at the Church of the Brethren. We chopped, diced, mixed and cooked. We then load everything up and head for the shelter. Others join us there to serve the meal.

We raise money to fund this program by raffling off Sue's beautiful gift baskets.

[Ed. Note: Some bigger churches do more than we do; two of them prepare a meal for the shelter every week, not every month. Some churches do less; on at least one occasion, no church volunteered, so everyone at the shelter got peanut butter sandwiches on day-old bread and tap water for dinner. Our first principle is "The inherent worth and dignity of every person." It is true even if they don't have a home, or if they haven't had a chance to bathe in a while. TP]