Shelter offers a softer place to rest
Sleeping arrangements for homeless people who seek shelter from the Gathering Inn nonprofit agency in Roseville are a bit more comfortable these days.
The shelter system that is operated with the help of congregations throughout the Roseville area now has new sleeping mats for the roughly 50 people who seek shelter there each night in the winter. Book of Dreams readers paid for the mats.
"The mats are used on a nightly basis by everybody who stays here, so they are a central part of the comfort of the clients," said Suzi deFosset, Gathering Inn executive director.
The program takes in people in the area who do not have a place to live and buses them to local congregations each night. The congregations take turns hosting the visitors, preparing a hot meal for them as well as allowing them to sleep on mats in their places of worship. During the day, staff at the Gathering Inn work to find jobs and long-term housing for the clients or to fulfill other basic needs.
Last month, workers at the program helped find long-term housing for Nancy Shelton and her three children.
"It's helping me to get back on my feet because I'm kind of lost," Shelton said.