Student Contributor -M. Vargas
St. Margaret’s Shelter provides emergency and transitional shelter to promote positive life changes in a supportive, short-term environment. St. Margaret’s Shelter offers social services that include individualized case management to regain and stabilize housing for families experiencing homelessness. They offer stabilization services that are driven by the families they serve and provide housing and vocational experts to assist families with resources and connections to community partners and programs.
St. Margaret’s Shelter originally opened in 1961 for homeless and destitute women. Today, St. Margaret’s is not only an emergency and transitional shelter for homeless families that provides housing, case management, parenting classes, and life skills training. St. Margaret’s also provides emergency shelter to mothers with high-risk newborns. The families that are serviced by St. Margaret’s come from a variety of backgrounds. All live at below 30% of the median family income. Some of them are coming from incarceration or treatment facilities, some fleeing from domestic violence and others from living in their cars. Many of the families deal with mental health, addiction and/or physical health concerns. At any given time about two thirds of the families are heavily involved in the child welfare system.
St. Margaret’s Shelter appreciates any volunteers for sorting donations, stocking their Food bank, play supervision and crafts with kids. It may be a little difficult to have younger students supervise other children, but it may be an option for older students. However, all students could help with beatifying St. Margaret’s Shelter. As a class, students could create decorations which could then be given to St. Margaret’s Shelter. They welcome decorations that are created using art supplies. Classrooms could also partner with St. Margaret’s Shelter and run a donation drive. There is always a need for food, clothing, toiletries, etc. Once all the items are collected and donated, the students could also assist in sorting all the goods.
