Along with preparing the church for Christmas services and straightening their homes for visiting relatives, members of Trinity Lutheran Church in Newport News are getting ready to welcome about 80 extra guests who are visiting for the holiday.
From Wednesday through Dec. 31, the church is hosting LINK of Hampton Roads’ PORT Emergency Homeless Winter Shelter Program. Through the program, local places of worship such as Trinity Lutheran take weeklong shifts housing the homeless overnight and feeding them dinner and breakfast during the winter months.
The church, which has been participating in PORT for about 12 years, usually hosts the program during the week of the Super Bowl, serving pizza and showing the game on a big screen TV.
They still plan to do that, but members of the church ended up putting in a little more into the program this year.
In years past, Noland United Methodist Church has hosted PORT during the week of Christmas, but after the church closed, LINK organizers needed another church to step in and help, said Fred Ardis, a member of Trinity Lutheran who has volunteered with the program for years.
During a meeting of the participating organizations, Ardis said he felt compelled to help, even before consulting with his pastor or other members of the church.
“We’re sitting here looking at each other,” Ardis said. “I raised by hand, and I said I’d do it.”
Luckily, the church’s pastor, the Rev. Frederick Guy, and others were on board.
“I decided no matter what, we’re going to make it work,” Ardis said.
The arrival of the guests Wednesday has meant church members have been preparing food and accommodations for dozens, as well as coordinating the logistics so Christmas Eve services can go on without a hitch while the program is underway.
On Monday, Ardis and Anne Evans, another church member and longtime PORT volunteer, prepared goody bags with items such as socks, pens, toiletries, notebooks, flashlights and games.
“It’s actually heartwarming for me. It’s humbling. It’s a wonderful way to give back,” Evans said. “The people are wonderful. They’re very generous.”
No matter what circumstances someone might be facing, everyone needs to be treated with dignity and respect, Ardis said.
“We’re all created in God’s image,” Ardis said. “I just look at it as a chance to put a smile on someone’s face.”
One of the things that keeps Evans involved with PORT year after year is learning that previous attendees in the program are able to get back on their feet.
“That kind of thing fuels us,” she said.
Ardis and Evans said they are expecting about 80 to 85 people to show up at the church this week. However, Lynne Finding, executive director of LINK of Hampton Roads, said that participation in the PORT program has gone up in recent months, especially among families.
While she couldn’t pinpoint why more families were participating this year, she pointed to poor job prospects impacting their ability to maintain a roof over their heads.
Last week, the program peaked at 98 people, when ordinarily the number would be in the 80s, Finding said. When this year’s program began in November, participation was in the 70s.
Finding said there tend to be fewer people participating in PORT around the holidays, since some are able to stay with family members.
The organizations that participate in PORT make a difference in the lives of the homeless in the city, donating time, money and resources to the effort, Finding said.
“Without them we wouldn’t be able to do it,” she said.
Trinity Lutheran isn’t the only place of worship providing a place for the homeless on the Peninsula during the holidays.
Hampton Roads Ecumenical Lodgings and Provisions, or HELP, hosts a similar program to PORT in Hampton called A Night’s Welcome. Through Saturday, Rodef Sholom Temple will be hosting the program there.
The temple has been participating in the program for about 15 years, typically during the week of Christmas.
“It’s just sort of become a tradition over the years,” said Susan Longman, who is the project manager at the temple. “That’s just what we do.”
This year, part of their week also fell on Hanukkah, which ended at sundown Wednesday.
“It hasn’t affected the man and woman power for people to house or support the shelter or work the overnight shift,” she said. “It’s just one of those things. We know what week it’s going to be on, so we plan accordingly.”
One thing volunteers must consider is that meals prepared at the temple must be kosher, which includes a restriction against mixing meat and dairy at meals.
Those who shop for food also have to make sure the items they buy are kosher, but the effort required is worth it, Longman said.
“When everybody pulls their weight, it works out nicely,” she said.
One thing Longman has noticed over the years is fewer people using the program. About five or so years ago, the temple saw about 100, and as many as 120 to 130 people using the program in a week. This week, they’ve only gotten about 40 or 50.
Longman thinks it is a testament to the longer-term work of HELP assisting the needy in Hampton find more permanent housing.
“Maybe one day we won’t be doing a homeless shelter because there won’t be anyone to bring there, and that’s a good thing,” Longman said.
Castillo can be reached by phone at 757-247-4635.
