Shelter system gives homeless a safe place to sleep
It was a steep rise in the price of gas that catapulted Kristine Davis and her daughter, Breanna, into homelessness.
The increased cost in traveling to her job in Sacramento from Auburn led to some missed rent payments. Then, not long afterward, she lost her home.
For a time, Davis, a single mother, and her teenage daughter lived out of a car. But since the Roseville-based Gathering Inn homeless shelter system opened for the winter season in October, the small family now has a warm place to sleep.
"It gives us a reliable, safe place to stay where we can get support," Davis said as she and her daughter dined on lasagna at the Valley Springs Presbyterian Church in Roseville.
The Gathering Inn is a faith-based nonprofit that organized a coalition of congregations in Placer County to open their doors to shelter homeless people in winter months.
The many churches that participate in the program host homeless people on a set schedule. The congregations prepare dinner for clients and provide a space for them to lay down mats and sleep for the night.
The program serves about 50 people per night. In addition to providing food and shelter, the program also works with clients to help them find permanent housing and to link them with other social service programs.
"It was kind of the best thing that ever happened to us," said Nancy Shelton, 39, who with her three children, was admitted to Acres of Hope, a transitional housing program for women. Shelton found the Acres of Hope program and completed the application process with the help of Gathering Inn employees.
"It's helping me to get back on my feet because I'm kind of lost," Shelton said.
Gathering Inn officials have asked Book of Dreams readers to help pay for new sleeping mats. The ones they have now are worn.