Interfaith Shelter Network
Sheltering Homeless San Diegans since 1986
The Network involves 120 congregations of all denominations county-wide in a Rotational Shelter program. About 60 of the congregations host the program in their facilities for two or four weeks a year and the remainder serve in a valuable support role, providing volunteers for meals and overnight hosting, transportation and donations.
Through neighborhood congregations linking with others, people are sheltered where there are no shelters and receive the understanding and support of congregations when previously all they knew was fear and uncertainty. Congregations benefit by getting to know homeless individuals personally and the mutual sharing of stories is beneficial to both.
Guests are only sent to congregations in the Network after being screened by an area social service agency to assure there will be no active drug, alcohol or mental health problems. Guests sent to the Network's congregations must be willing to work closely with the referring social service agency to resolve the problems leading to their homelessness.
This is a practical, manageable way to serve for both host and support congregations. Congregations host the program for two weeks at a time, usually once, but no more than twice a year. The volunteer and meal support they receive from neighboring congregations is invaluable. Only 12 guests at a time generally stay in the congregation facilities. At the end of two weeks, the whole operation -- cots and guests -- rotates to another area congregation. Guests can stay up to eight weeks in the Network.
Every season, La Mesa First United Methodist takes a turn hosting the shelter. We provide breakfast and food for sack lunches and dinners. Two or three of our members stay with the guests overnight to ensure that they have a comfortable and safe stay. We also invite other local churches that do not have adequate facilities to be the hosts one or more nights during our rotation on the schedule.
If you would like more information about the Interfaith Shelter Network, please visit their webpage. If you are interested in learning more about how our church is involved in this important community service project, please contact us with questions.