St. Clement's Hypothermia Shelter

The St. Clement's shelter provides emergency temporary shelter to homeless men in Alexandria throughout the winter months.

Ministry Needs

Shelter volunteers provide overnight staffing of the emergency shelter run from a neighborhood church. Guests are screened before coming to the shelter. The volunteer greets and helps settle the guests; monitors the shelter throughout the night; checks guests out; and closes the shelter. While shelter regulations require that someone be awake at all times, two people are assigned to each shift, allowing some time for sleep. Volunteers need compassion, flexibility, ability to tactfully enforce rules and regulations and good communication skills with diverse populations.

Training Provided

New volunteers will be met by an experienced volunteer or church opener, who will explain shelter procedures. If a prospective volunteer would like to visit the shelter on a Wednesday before making a commitment to volunteer, that can be arranged with the coordinator.

Meetings and Time Required

Christ Church is responsible for shelter supervision on Wednesday nights from November through mid-March. Shifts run from 9:00 PM - 7:00 AM (when we volunteer at St. Clement's). This is not an ongoing commitment. Most volunteers only sign up for one shift a winter.

Benefits

Volunteering at the shelter gives the satisfaction of meeting an immediate, concrete need of a brother in Christ. It also gives an opportunity to spend time with people you might otherwise not meet and learn their stories.

Who Can I Call to Find Out More or to Get Involved?

Anne Shackleton: 703-549-7423 or click here to send Anne an email.

Steve Reed: 703-370-1242 or click here to send Steve an email.