Homeless Shelters Need Your Help

Homelessness is a widespread problem that affects many countries around the world, including Australia.  There are approximately 105,000 homeless people in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth on any given night.  These include men, women, and children of all ages who are having a hard time getting back on track with their lives.

As an individual, you may think that you can do nothing to help since you don’t have the means to build a homeless shelter. But you are mistaken.  There are so many things that you can do for the homeless. And one way is contribute help to existing homeless shelters. Your help is very much needed by shelters, more than you know.

Here are some ways you can help homeless shelters like Sheltered by Grace:

Become a prayer warrior

Becoming a prayer warrior for the homeless in Sheltered by Grace is one way of providing spiritual, moral and emotional support for both out clients and our orgnisation during trying times. More than the roof over their heads, food in their bellies and clothes on their bodies, Sheltered by Grace has seen first hand the power of prayer over the lives of the individuals that we help.

The homeless are just like you and I. They still are multi-dimensional individuals who have physical, mental, social, emotional and spiritual needs. They will never be whole again when we only give attention to their physical needs which is why being a prayer warrior could offer tremendous support to help them get their lives back on track.

Furthermore, becoming a prayer warrior is not only advantageous for the homeless – Prayer warriors can also provide intangible support to volunteers and the founders of local homeless shelters.

Do philanthropic works by developing a charitable trust

Philanthropy often takes the form of large donations of money and property in the form of charitable trusts. This is what some of the rich are doing to leave their legacy for the world. As an everyday person, you may not have the means to become a philanthropist yourself but you do have the power to influence your organization or workplace to start developing a charitable trust dedicated primarily to help shelters for the homeless.

If your company doesn’t have this type of program, you can start one of your own by developing and creating a proposal to management on developing charitable trusts. Most charitable trusts that assist local homeless shelters are not owned by only one wealthy person. These charitable trusts are developed by communities, employees and even teams. Hence, it is possible to develop a charitable trust despite being just a “normal” person.  Use your voice to influence your fellow team members to this type of charitable work.

Become a Homeless Shelter Volunteer

One of the main factors why community organizations, like Sheltered by Grace who provide shelter for the homeless, continue to exist is through the assistance and work of volunteers.  Our volunteers are the building blocks of our homeless shelter. You can help local homeless shelters by contributing your time as a volunteer. You don’t need to have any special skills in order to become a volunteer to a homeless shelter.  You can help by taking clients appointment, getting meals ready, doing handyman work, mentoring clients, fund raising, event coordinating and so much more.

There are several roles a Volunteer can assume in shelters, like Sheltered by Grace. These include the following:

• Transformation Worker: Transformation workers assist clients to have access to basic support and services that restore their health and help them regain financial independence.

• Administration Assistant: They are the ones responsible for all the office work such as writing letters, completing paper works, and doing other general administrative work.

• Student Volunteer: A student can also volunteer in shelters. They will be assigned to different roles. They may even be assigned as transformation managers.

• House Parents: House parents assist homeless in shelters by teaching them life skills like preparing meals, cleaning, doing the laundry, etc.

• Night Manager: As most shelters operate 24/7, night managers are very important to have someone readily available to tend to client’s needs during the night.

• Handyman: The handyman is the person responsible for the repairs and maintenance needed by the shelters. Their work include: cleaning the gutters, maintaining doors, doing room repairs and other odd jobs.

• Cleaner: Although clients are given cleaning responsibilities, there is still a lot of cleaning that needs to be done in specific areas of the shelters. This is where cleaners can help.

• Driver: Drivers help clients meet their appointments by transporting them to the right location.

Becoming a Volunteer is very rewarding. It can contribute to your physical and mental health. Studies on volunteers in shelters and other organizations show that their chronic pain symptoms are generally decreased.  In addition, volunteering is another way to gain credible work experience, which you can add to your resume thereby increasing your chances of getting hired.

These are just a few examples on how you can contribute assistance to homeless shelters. There are still so many things that you can do to help and your help is very much needed by shelters like Sheltered by Grace.  Contact Sheltered by Grace today and see how you can help us transform lives!