What you might not know is that during that time a group of Christian business men (all from Valparaiso Mennonite Church, I think) decided to do more.  They realized that many of these guys really have no place to go during the day and that they need help if they are ever going to find jobs and escape the cycle of poverty and homelessness.  So they created the not-for-profit New Creation Men’s Business Advocates, Inc. to provide some of that help at the New Creation Men’s Center.

I’m not an official spokesman or anything, but I do volunteer there once a week, doing a quick Bible study and prayer with the guys on Monday mornings.  Also, some folks from our church are going to bring in a couple meals a month during the summer.  Together with a bunch of other folks, we’re hoping to provide one meal a day for the guys to supplement their food stamps or whatever.

Right now, New Creation Men’s Center is open Monday-Friday, 8:00 am – 6:00 pm.  They provide a lot of services for men who find themselves without a home:

• a shower
• a laundry room
• a workout room
• a computer lab with internet access
• a place to receive mail and phone calls
• storage lockers
• case management, to help them set goals, find resources, and take steps out of homelessness

In addition to these, New Creation provides a place for the men to meet with people like counselors, nurses, and pastors, who come to the center on a regular schedule and by appointment.

New Creation is also providing some work opportunities for the men, to provide short-term income as well as building some job skills and experience.  They can provide day labor for a variety of tasks (contact them to see if the work you need done fits their capabilities).  And soon they will be opening a second-hand store for large items like furniture and appliances.

You can contact New Creation at (219) 548-3548 or by emailing their executive director, Tom Isakson, at tomi@ncbai.org.  If you have time, resources, or ideas to contribute, this is a good cause and a good team worthy of your support.

They serve folks from 10:00 am to noon Mondays and Wednesdays, and I’m there two Mondays each month. Just like at most food pantries, people have to meet certain requirements to be served — live in a certain area, provide proof of need, etc. — and can receive food once every two weeks.  They coordinate with the other food pantries in town to make sure people aren’t hopping from pantry to pantry.  It’s not intended to provide all the food a family will need for the entire month, but to provide supplemental help.  (And it seems to be working — scroll to the end for some stats on how many people are served.)

One thing that keeps it interesting for volunteers like me is the variety of tasks that need to be done.  One person works the sign-in table.  Another works in the back storage room, sorting food donations. Another fills paper grocery bags with the basic items.  Another works the window, handing people their food.  And usually there’s another person kind of floating — bringing food up from the back storage room, keeping the table and cart in the lobby area full, etc.  The table and cart are where the food items go that aren’t exactly staples — things like syrup, fruit juice, cake mix, candy, baby food, olives, whatever.  We’re not going to put them in every bag, but some people like them or need them, so we set them out and let people take what they need.

Oh, and somebody gets to drive around to the supporting churches to pick up the food donations.  For the past couple months, I’ve been that guy.  Most of the churches leave a basket or something out, and people drop off food when they come to worship on Sundays.  Then I go pick them up, bring them back, and sort them.  The only church that doesn’t do this, as far as I know, is St. Paul’s.  They do a monthly food drive and drop it off themselves — which is good, because it’s usually 2-3 minivan loads of food, and I’m not about to make that many trips to St. Paul’s in my Mazda 3.

When I first started volunteering there — oh, maybe 2 years ago now — I mainly filled the paper bags.  There’s a list of items that go into each bag, depending on the size of the family: 1 person, 2 people, or 4 people.  A family of 3 is given a “2″ plus some additional items.  A family of 5 or 6 gets a “4″ plus items, etc.  A family of 8 just gets two “4″s — and yes, we have at least two families of 8 that drop in on occasion.

I’ve served at the window a few times, too, and that keeps you hopping, because besides handing them the right pre-filled paper bag, you also ask if they want a whole list of additional items.  Most of these are items that have to be refrigerated — milk, eggs, butter, hamburger, hot dogs, etc — but the list also includes things like peanut butter, rice or noodles, and crackers.  Obviously, the refrigerated items can’t be put into the bags ahead of time, so grabbing them at the window is the only way to do it.  The other items… well, apparently enough people were handing them back that it was decided we’d just wait and ask first.  And enough people say “no thanks” that it seems like a good idea.

I’m glad I have a job that’s flexible enough for me to be able to volunteer here, because a lot of people are being helped.  (Here are those statistics I promised earlier.)  In January, the pantry served 225 families, which meant food for 686 people.  In February, it was 224 families, or 589 people.  (Smaller families, I guess.)  The March numbers aren’t in yet, but I can tell you that this week, on top of everything else, 100 people will receive Easter baskets ingredients to make a special Easter meal for their families, including dessert.  Somewhere I have the annual numbers for 2008, but I can’t put my finger on them just now.  If I find them, I’ll update the post.

And, for the grand finale, here are the churches I visit to pick up donations.  There may be other churches who bring in donations on their own (like St. Paul’s, but on a smaller scale), and I know that some other churches maintain their own food pantries.  We also receive food from individuals and groups (like the recent Banta Feeds projects).  These are just the churches I know about because I have to go pick up their food donations:

• First Christian Church
• First Presbyterian Church
• St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
• First United Methodist Church
• Trinity Lutheran Church
• Living Hope Community Church

If you ever want to make a donation to the pantry — of food, money, or time — let me know!