One of our hopes for 2025 is that our St. Joseph parish community will be able to provide volunteers to assist our neighbors Bound Brook Presbyterian Church as they host and provide shelter for un-housed guests for one week, four times a year, as part of the HOME-Somerset County program.
The volunteering is broken down by nightly shifts: 5:00-7:00 pm, 7:00-9:00 pm, and an overnight shift from 9:00 pm – 6:00 am.
The responsibilities for the volunteers include:
5-7pm shift: shares dinner with the guests (the meal is provided by other volunteers from the church);
7-9pm shift: spends time sitting with the guests possibly in conversation or spending time with their children;
the overnight shift: requires the volunteers to turn out the lights and spend the night on the provided cots, and locking up after the guests leave at 6:00 am. And if the families retire to their rooms early, the volunteers have a chance to socialize with each other – or simply bring a book to read.
The 4 weeks when Bound Brook Presbyterian Church is hosting are:
FEBRUARY 2-8 / MAY 18-24 / SEPT. 28-OCT. 4 / NOV. 30-DEC. 6
More details and sign-up opportunities will be made available early in the new year.