Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Homelessness is an ongoing problem in our community. The reasons for homelessness are many and varied. It could be due to the lack of affordable housing, violence and abuse, mental health issues (including PTSD, which veterans often experience), unemployment or a combination. As winter approaches, there is a need in our small community to offer shelter for individuals who have no home. In Gloucester County this year, at least 78 individuals are experiencing homelessness.

In 2014, church leaders came together to acknowledge this community problem and develop a program to offer temporary shelter for this growing number of people, including families with children. Guiding this movement was scripture from the Gospel of Matthew: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” These meetings produced a board and the GUEST (Gloucester United Emergency Shelter Team) program, where churches provided nighttime shelter for people without a home. This was possible because church congregations came together with each church serving as a host site for a week at a time. Members of the congregation would provide meals and supervision during the night. During the day, shelter residents would leave and go to work, to school or possibly the GUEST Day Shelter (the Day Shelter provides meals, showers and laundry for individuals without a home).

And then the pandemic arrived and required a different way of providing winter shelter. During those winter months, motel vouchers were available to meet housing needs.

Now that the pandemic is behind us, we are returning to the original way of churches and civic organizations (which have a building) providing emergency shelter to our community’s homeless. With cold weather soon arriving, we are in dire need of additional host sites.

If you belong to a church or organization that has a building that might meet this need, please consider serving as a host site. The GUEST board and GUEST staff are available to assist your church or organization through the process of becoming a shelter site. Training is available for people who work at the shelters. For more information about becoming a host site, please email GUEST board member Janet Gomez at thezemogs@gmail.com.

Thank you for consideration to serve this critical need in our community.

Linda Hodges
GUEST board member
(on behalf of GUEST board)
Mathews, Va.