volunteering | Tedford Housing

Giving Voice: Flipping the Calendar to Volunteer Opportunities

August 28, 2019 By Jennifer Leave a Comment

The following art icle was published in The Times Record on 8/23/19 and written by Jennifer Iacovelli, the director of development for Tedford Housing and author of Simple Giving: Easy Ways to Give Every Day.

It’s funny how mindsets tend to change with the flip of the calendar. It seems like Mainers – and those tourists visiting our amazing Vacationland state – start to realize colder weather and the realities of a more structured schedule lie ahead once July turns into August. Summer-themed items are a thing of the past in stores and the back to school supplies are starting to get replaced by Halloween decorations.

I was lucky enough to squeeze in a vacation with my two sons between the end of summer track and the beginning of football practices. Since being back from vacation I’ve been focused on getting backpacks filled with school supplies and clothes from the Ready Set Go to Learn (RSG2L) program (which I wrote about in a Giving Voice column published last year) for Tedford Housing’s school-aged clients. I’m also prepping for two visits from Bowdoin student volunteers for orientation and the college’s annual Common Good Day. Students will be back on campus before we know it.

Our board members will start meeting again on a monthly basis, along with the important and focused committee work that will begin again. I’m also starting to think about the upcoming Warm Thy Neighbor season, which provides one-time, emergency heating assistance to extremely low-income families and individuals in the community. And, believe it or not, I also have our annual Christmas Store on the brain. We look forward to partnering with Pathway Vineyard Church once again to provide a free “store” for the families we serve during the holiday season.

The realities of my job make me feel so fortunate that I am able to take my kids on a short vacation purely for our leisure. The outreach work by our case managers to neighbors in the community who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless continues to rise. Our two homeless shelters for individuals and families continue to remain full. Worries are heightened as the start of school gets closer and the temperatures begin to dip.

The good news is that there are always silver linings to our work. There are the success stories of those individuals and families moving into permanent housing. There’s the help we receive from volunteers who sort the donations of household items, toiletries and cleaning supplies from generous supporters to help people set up their new homes. There are our regular supportive housing tenants who are helping to coordinate a crew that will put together a new playset we were able to purchase with funding from the Rotary Club of Bath. We are also elated to hear that the Merrymeeting Project for homeless youth, which Tedford Housing could no longer fund, has a new home with the Midcoast Community Alliance.

That flip of the calendar from the carefree summer vacation mode to more serious school and work mode often gives people new motivation to help others. I tend to see a spike in inquiries regarding volunteer opportunities or ways people can contribute to our everyday work in the community creating pathways from homelessness to home. If you feel so inclined to be more involved with Tedford Housing, I’d love to chat with you. Our summer fellow from Bowdoin, Elise Hocking, did a great job identifying more volunteer opportunities for us. These opportunities include picking up and delivering meals to the shelter, making packets for our RentSmart programs for shelter guests, helping us maintain our wait list, sorting donations or managing our volunteer schedule. I’m also open to your ideas around helping to support Tedford Housing and the people we serve. Feel free to give me a call at 207-729-1161, ext. 101 or send me an email at jennifer@tedfordhousing.org.

Giving voice: Creating pathways with opportunities to become involved with Tedford’s mission

July 23, 2019 By Jennifer Leave a Comment

The following article was published in The Times Record on 6/28/19 and written by Elise Hocking, the Maine Community Fellow at Tedford Housing and a rising sophomore at Bowdoin College.

During my first year at Bowdoin College, I ran down Federal Street countless times on my way to the bike path along the river. Going into the summer, I felt confident navigating my way around the town of Brunswick. To my surprise, on my first day at Tedford Housing, I learned that one of the houses that I consistently ran by was Tedford Housing’s family shelter. While the shelter is not marked by a Tedford sign, I was still shocked by my lack of awareness.

This summer, as the Maine Community Fellow at Tedford Housing, my primary job is to evaluate and improve Tedford’s volunteer program. However, in order to do this work, I need to be familiar with the needs of the community of Brunswick and the nonprofits and individuals seeking to address these needs. Over the course of the last several weeks, I have spent much of my time talking to staff at other nonprofits, active community members, and guests at Tedford’s shelters in order to deepen my understanding of the pressing, yet often overlooked, challenges that exist right here in Brunswick.

Although my time at Tedford has just begun, I have come to witness how homelessness intensifies every other struggle an individual faces. Food insecurity, domestic abuse, substance abuse, and mental health issues are all escalated by homelessness. In high school, I spent significant time focused on anti-poverty efforts through the lens of education. My belief in the transformative power of education has certainly not diminished, however, I have quickly adopted the mindset of Housing First.

Without the stability of a place to stay each night, it is unlikely that someone facing homelessness will have the ability to devote sufficient energy to seek out additional resources. Homelessness produces a short-term mindset because an individual has to constantly worry about physical safety and shelter. Before someone can be expected to take the necessary and often complicated steps to improve their situation, they should have access to housing, nutritious food and support.

My role in furthering Tedford’s mission of “creating pathways from homelessness to home by partnering with people and their communities in Midcoast Maine,” is to increase community support through volunteers. In beginning this work, I met with the volunteer coordinators at Midcoast Hunger Prevention Program and The Gathering Place to learn about best practices in recruiting, retaining, and appreciating volunteers. Unlike MCHPP or The Gathering Place, some people do not know that it is possible to volunteer for Tedford. While Tedford’s volunteer program is not as developed as that of our partners, Tedford still relies on the contributions of volunteers to support its services.

Volunteers for Tedford work in the office, the storage unit that houses donations, the gardens, and in their own kitchens. Tedford’s largest volunteer effort is the Meal-A-Month program through which restaurants, churches, neighborhood groups and individuals take turns providing a meal for guests at the adult shelter every single night of the year.

Beyond our Meal-A-Month program, Tedford Housing is currently looking to grow our other volunteer roles. If you are a gardener, you can help maintain our plots at our family shelter and affordable housing units. If you are creative and organized, you can help us connect entering and exiting guests with donated items. If you are already a supporter of Tedford Housing, you can help us relaunch the Friends of Tedford group. These are just a few of the ways you can get involved in Tedford Housing’s mission. If you are interested in volunteering or becoming more involved with Tedford, please email me at volunteer@tedfordhousing.org. We would love to have you join us in Tedford’s many initiatives to end homelessness.

Upstanders in our mix

October 16, 2018 By Jennifer Leave a Comment

The following article was published in The Times Record on 10/12/18 and written by Joanne Rosenthal, former board member and current Tedford Housing volunteer, social worker & activist

An upstander is a person “who speaks or acts in support of an individual or cause…who recognizes when something is wrong and acts to make it right….being socially responsible.”

Let’s start with the hard stuff. While debates in Brunswick ensue about the need and location for a new and expanded homeless shelter with comprehensive services, real-time crises continue to catapult individuals and families from housing to homelessness. The shelter for single adults on Cumberland St. is always filled to capacity with daily calls from many more seeking shelter. The same holds true for all of 8 of the properties managed by Tedford Housing. People served include adults, teenagers, families and elders experiencing one of life’s most stressful events.

The social safety net in Brunswick is strong but must be responsive to ever changing needs.

The good news is that there are many among us who have been stepping up to assist Tedford Housing for a very long time. They do this by volunteering to provide daily evening meals to the adult shelter guests. The monetary value of these contributions is enormous, but the nourishment and dignity afforded to those who are struggling is priceless.

For the past 8 years I have coordinated the Meal-A-Month program, and it has been my pleasure to witness the many upstanders in our midst.

At the present time there are around 27 individuals, church and neighborhood groups, the college, businesses and restaurants providing a full dinner to the guests of Tedford’s adult shelter almost every evening of the year. And they’ve been at it, in some cases, for decades. These volunteers prepare and deliver delicious home-cooked meals to the shelter by 5:00pm without fanfare. These reliable, self-directed folks have their own reasons for participating in this program – be it their faith in action, commitment to community service, being good neighbors, or just because it’s the right thing to do.

Over this past summer, I had the opportunity to consult with Annie Rose, an intern at Tedford Housing. In her capacity as the Bowdoin College Community Service Fellow, Annie worked on several projects, including the Meal-A-Month program, where she successfully transitioned the monthly calendar to an online scheduling program. Annie’s computer literacy skills enabled me to step away from a particularly labor intensive task, freeing up time to focus on other aspects of the program. Since I enjoy networking the old fashioned way, I am planning to recruit more community partners to join the cadre of meal preparers, and I know you are out there!

If you’ve been wanting to be part of a solution, this volunteer opportunity might be the perfect fit. No particular cooking experience is needed, and we are happy to help you in figuring out quantities and menu planning. Some groups cook together, while others prefer working solo. Volunteers can sign up for a regular day (i.e. the first Monday, etc.) and others work better on a fill-in basis. Perhaps you could organize a group of friends, people from your exercise or yoga class, or co-workers / colleagues to prepare a meal. If you would like to hear first-hand from someone who’s done this for a while, I will be happy to make that connection.

Yes, there is much strife in the world and it can be hard to know how to alleviate human suffering, but as Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Working together, sharing our time and resources, our town’s many upstanders can shine a light to those in need in our own backyard.

If you are interested in preparing, delivering or serving a dinner monthly or on a one-time basis, contact Jennifer Iacovelli, Director of Development at 207-729-1161, #101 or email.

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