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PAGE 7 — The Georgia Bulletin, November 5, 1987
St. Anthony's Shelter Gives Many "Chance To Share"
BY PAULA DAY
Atlantans have already felt the cold touch of winter in
temperatures that have dipped into the 30s. Atlanta’s street
people also have felt that touch and Atlanta’s night shelters
are preparing for another four and a half months of pro
viding food and shelter for these homeless. Opening Nov.
15, St. Anthony’s parish-sponsored shelter in southwest
Atlanta is one of the original shelters to minister to
Atlanta’s needy during the winter months.
Begun in January 1982, the shelter will be staffed nightly
this winter by volunteers from 32 Catholic parishes, two
Catholic schools and one business. Billie and Don Nye of St.
John Neumann parish in Lilburn coordinate the efforts of
these volunteers.
“It gives many people the opportunity to share,’’ com
mented Don Nye. “Very few come away with a negative
reaction. They go to uplift and become uplifted
themselves."
St. Anthony’s shelter has room for 35 men; the hot
casserole-style meal is enough to feed 40. The shelter offers
some special services in addition to giving food and a
vices, limited housing assistance and free of charge
clothing outlets.
But the shelter's nightly hot meals and lodging are the
backbone of its ministry and it is in this service that hun
dreds of Catholics participate.
The shelter is located in the hall beneath St. Anthony’s
Church on the corner of Gordon and Ashby Streets in Atlan
ta’s West End. It is easily accessible from the parking lot at
the back which is between the church and the parish rec
tory. The large hall has a fully equipped kitchen at one end
and a closed off area where volunteers may sleep or watch
television. At the opposite end are the rest rooms and a
shower. The open area between has tables and chairs which
are folded and stacked at the end of the evening, clearing
the area for the mats used for sleeping.
Volunteers are usually divided into two groups, those
responsible for preparing and serving dinner and those who
stay overnight. At least three persons are needed for the
overnight team, so the volunteers can stay awake in shifts
and also get some sleep.
In addition to the hot meal, which volunteers can prepare
in the shelter's kitchen or bring in, the men also receive
Phil made special efforts to help at the shelter, volunteer
ing to work in the kitchen and helping with the cleanup.
Over time, the Nyes noticed what seemed to be an improv
ed sense of self-worth in Phil. When he returned the follow
ing winter, he had a glass eye. He continued to volunteer to
work around the parish and eventually was hired to do odd
jobs. Phil went on to get counseling and, the last time the
Nyes heard, he was working at a steady job.
John, another street person, “was very upset with
'whitey' and gave us a hard time, " Nye said. “You didn't
want to get caught by John. He once said to me, 'You do
good work here, but would you let me come to your house
and take a shower'.’’ It makes you think." Nye knew he was
finally accepted when John "gave me a big hug on his
own."
Several young men who find lodging at the shelter are go
ing to school to try to better themselves. Billie Nye said, but
can t afford food and shelter, while they pay for school. One
shelter person goes regularly to local libraries and “reads
everything he can get his hands on” in order to educate
himself, she added.
Don Nye makes up the yearly schedule of volunteers and
night’s lodging. One is a barber service; another is the foot
ministry.
Two times a week, St. Anthony parishioner Janice Willis
helps the men shampoo their hair and gives them a full cut
or trim. Ms. Willis' service is characteristic of the way ser
vices come to be provided by the shelter. Don Nye points
out, “Somebody comes to the shelter as a volunteer, sees a
need and says to themselves, ‘I can do something about
that.’ That’s the way many of our needs are met."
A special and much needed feature of St. Anthony’s
shelter is its foot ministry, again begun after a volunteer
realized that she personally could do something to help.
Foot problems are major problems for street people
because they stand or walk much of the time, often do not
have proper fitting footwear and do not have a change of
shoes. Once a week two women from St. Anthony’s give the
shelter’s guests a hot foot soak. Then they rub down the sore
and calloused feet with alcohol or oil to help ease the
discomfort.
Another volunteer, who worked at Fort McPherson, ar
ranged to have a supply of overcoats given once a year to
the shelter.
On a monthly basis a mobile medical unit from Saint
Joseph’s Hospital visits the shelter. A doctor and two
nurses listen to medical complaints and dispense medicine.
For more serious medical problems they make referrals to
Grady Hospital, a process that can take time and can
become complicated without this referral from the unit’s
team.
Another service offered by St. Anthony’s shelter is a
United Way booklet which lists a variety of useful
resources. These include limited job assistance, legal aid,
dental and medical care, alcohol and drug counseling ser-
Christ Of The Breadlines By Fritz Eichenberg
fruit and sandwiches in the morning.
Joyce Smith, employed by the parish as shelter manager,
is on hand from 5:30 to 8:30 each weekday evening to orient
the volunteers. The shelter opens to the men looking for
lodging at 7 p.m. It closes at 8, allowing for time to settle in
before lights out.
Rules, developed through experience, give structure and
protection to the volunteers and the guests. The first 30 per
sons on the first night receive coupons for the next night.
They retain the coupon and are assured a place, losing it on
ly through disorderly conduct. This process establishes a
degree of stability — the same men returning night after
night.
“The regulars look after you and remind you if things
aren't going like they should,” commented Don Nye. “They
monitor each other, too. They let you know who to watch."
For Billie and Don Nye and their family, working as
volunteers at the shelter has been a rewarding experience.
All six of the Nye children have participated; the youngest
began when she was only two. After spending a Christmas
night at the shelter, the family assessment was: “The best
Christmas ever!”
“The children get to sit down and talk to the men — play
cards with them. You only have to go in there one time to
see that just because someone has less than you doesn’t
mean they are less than you are,” Billie Nye commented.
But it isn’t easy, especially at first, according to Don
Nye. He recalls his own difficulty in responding to Phil.
Phil was a street person with only one eye and because of
this disfigurement, Nye found it hard to talk with him. It
was a real test of his commitment to serving Christ in the
least of his brothers, Nye admits. While he didn’t want to
get involved with Phil, “Phil had decided he was going to
talk to me all night long.”
keeps it updated on a computer. Each parish that commits
has a coordinator who organizes persons at the parish level
who want to help. These coordinators are the Nyes’ contact
persons. Nye tries to spread assignments out; his goal is to
assign a group to only one night a month, four nights a year.
Six nights are the most any group is assigned in the present
schedule.
The coming winter’s schedule is complete but Nye would
like to add to what he calls his “bust list” — a list of persons
who could be called at the last minute to replace overnight
volunteers who can’t make it.
Other shelter needs, according to Billie Nye, include new
clothing: socks, stocking caps, underwear, gloves, jackets,
flannel shirts. These items, gift-wrapped, are given shelter
persons each night of Christmas week.
The cost of running the shelter has risen, according to
manager Joyce Smith, and she points out that St. Anthony’s
parish is not a wealthy parish. With the recent installation
of a shower, electricity bills have increased. Furnishing
soap, towels, razors and tooth brushes is an additional cost.
The city has raised the parish’s fee for disposal because of
increased waste. A committee, composed of St. Anthony’s
pastor and parishioners, decides how money donations are
spent, Ms. Smith added.
In a letter expressing gratitude for the help of volunteers
Billie Nye says she is reminded of lines from a poem by
James Russell Lowell in which Christ speaks:
“Who gives himself with his alms feeds three;
Himself, his hungering neighbor, and Me.”
(Persons wishing to volunteer to help at St. Anthony’s
shelter may contact their parish coordinator, or call Don
Nye at 921-3553 (home) or 633-4551 (work). Donations to the
shelter can he made to St. Anthony’s perish at 928 Gordon
Street, S.W., Atlanta, 30311.)