Winter Nights Manual: Children of Isaiah Volunteers
Our guests at Winter Nights may have been in crisis for a long period of time. It is incumbent on us to respect all personal, physical, and emotional boundaries at all times. One way we can do this, is to be careful to not overwhelm them in any way. We must remember to maintain a careful ratio of volunteers to guests. Children under the age of 10 must be cleared in advance (minimum of 24 hours in advance of your shift or activity – approval will depend on volunteer count and other logistics) by one of the following Temple Isaiah Chairs: the Crew Chief, WN Chairperson, or the Evening Activities Coordinator. We ask all Temple Isaiah volunteers to please abide by the following rules:
- All children brought to the shelter they must be supervised by a parent at all times!
- Prepare your children to understand what the homeless children are going through.
- Be sure they understand the importance of confidentiality, as some could go to the same school of the children in the shelter.
- Being homeless is a painful experience and some of the children, especially teenagers, may not want to interact with others. They must be respected in this need.
- Provide structure for the volunteers’ kids and give them specific things to do. They are not there as observers, but to serve others.
- If children are found to be disruptive or unable to contribute to the mission of Winter Nights, they may be asked to leave.
- Remind all children to respect the privacy of the guests and only go into the Social Hall area, if invited.
If you are looking for another opportunity to feed the homeless with your younger children, we suggest that you contact Loaves and Fishes or one of the other homeless shelters in the community.