Room In The Inn has started...consider volunteering this winter

It may not feel much like winter, but this week marks the beginning of Urban Ministries annual "Room In The Inn" program, or RITI.

The RITI program works with regional institutions, mostly churches, to provide additional beds off the street for our homeless neighbors during the winter months.  From December through March volunteers transport, feed, and provide shelter for people in need.

To give you a sense of the numbers involved, at just DUMC here in Davidson, last winter the church provided transportation, meals and overnight shelter for 603 homeless neighbors over 50 nights.   In the Charlotte region there are dozens of churches involved in the program.

Volunteering for this effort gives you an up close and personal view of one of the most intractable problems in our society.  Homelessness is a challenge every large city faces.  However, through volunteering with RITI, one gets the  chance to break some of the stereotypes surrounding who makes up this population.  You will see the "working poor" - people who have jobs but for one reason or the other don't have housing.  You will see veterans.  You will see families with young children.  You will see lots of people that you may see on the street at any other time and not recognize as someone who doesn't have a place to sleep that night.

What you won't see in the RITI program are the hard core homeless, people with serious mental or substance abuse issues.  RITI has strict rules for its applicants and  goes to great lengths to ensure a safe environment for volunteers.  (This part is mentioned in case that's a concern for potential volunteers.)

I have been a driver for the program over the past several winters, and can attest it is definitely something that can change your outlook.  I will never forget dropping off a family with a young boy the same age as my own son at the transit center in Uptown on one of the coldest mornings of the year a couple winters ago.

So, here is a personal request, or maybe consider it a challenge.  If you are interested in helping out in some small way this winter, there is always a need for more helping hands.  Consider volunteering for RITI.  The DUMC program in Davidson has open spots.  People are needed to drive, prepare food, and stay the night.  It works great if groups can cover an entire evening, pick up through drop off in the morning, though drivers are available if that is the piece that can't be filled.  Volunteers need not be church members.

If you are interested in helping out, contact me here or on Facebook.