Volunteer at a Homeless Shelter?

I have both volunteered at a shelter and twice been director of one on a volunteer basis. At the first place I think my title was "hey you" or "Grandma Vickie's friend" Officially I was a back up for the shelter organizer because she was concerned about situations between a few of the guests. My suspicion is that she just wanted me to see and experience it first hand (either that or God gave a quick answer to our prayers because no problems happened). My duties were helping fix supper, listening to the guests, telling the same guy at least 10 times no lighted cigarettes inside and finally seeing someone with more firmness tell him that the cigarette was not coming in and if he couldn't make a few hrs w/o smoking he'd have to go stay outside the fence, reading to a couple of kids, listening to another kid read to me, listening to and earning from other volunteers, doing the paper work for homeless counts. The next time I still didn't have a title but I guess maybe it could have been referee or "the bad guy" since my function was telling someone they had to leave and making it stick, This woman had violated every rule including the no drugs rule and was refusing to go and threatening violence when our friends who ran the shelter called me because I worked with homeless kids for the schools.

When I directed a a shelter I coordinated the work of volunteers so people did things they liked and what needed doing was done. Helped decide shelter policies, I also did intake (Talked to people who needed a shelter and decided who we could possibly help and who needed to be referred somewhere else since our space was very limited), explained rules, re explained rules, made sure clothes, bedding, TP, soap, towels, food were available as needed. Taught budgeting did a whole lot of listening and advocacy and counseling, did paper work like homeless counts, goals and results, grant applications, dealt with donors, dealt with people in nearby apartments (this shelter was housed in a building with other non shelter apartments), enforced rules and dealt with problems dealt with separated family members who shelter residents did not want to see, dealt with people in the community who had ideas on what we should and shouldn't do (some were pretty good ones some were pretty weird)

This is very over simplified but may be helpful http://www.ehow.com/how_2063498_run-homeless-shelt...

moere things of interest

http://www.news-tribune.net/opinion/local_story_15...

There are lists on line in case you kind right into a seek engine homeless preserve and your region. or you are able to call your community council to confirm the place they are. Shelters get little or no investment and actual matter on volunteers to help out, and spare despite time they'd, so i'm particular they'd be happy on your help despite if it became into basically 0.5 an afternoon on a saturday or something. I actual have finished some volunteering myself and despite if homeless shelters would properly be rather terrible at situations that's incredibly useful artwork, and you get to fulfill some very particular human beings. good success!

I helped in the Kitchen, cleaning and washing dishes, making sack lunches