It’s amazing what can happen when people come together, especially when they come with paint, brushes and a real desire to work.

“I am so filled with gratitude to Shepherd’s Gate,” said Marcie Burt, program manager for Macomb County Winter Shelter at Trinity Lutheran Church, referring to the Shelby Township parish that assembled a team of volunteers to help prepare the shelter for its opening season.

“They paint every day and the best part is they want to be here,” Burt said. “At the end of the day, when they should be exhausted and heading out the door, they are still there talking about the fun they had.”

“We average about 10 people a day,” said Scott Cote, who was joined by his wife Beth Anne and traveled from Lexington to join a group of parishioners painting the shelter’s Great Hall and Welcome Room.

Now, instead of gloomy gray walls, guests will be greeted by crisp white walls and a wave of blue.

“Our goal is to have everything ready by Dec. 29,” said Tim Joy, program director for the new center and among those trying to develop a sustainable replacement for the Macomb County Warming Center.

Kathy Goodrich’s death brought an end to the Macomb County Warming Center. Several attempts have been made to reopen the shelter; but they were not successful and in 2020 the doors were closed.

Goodrich was the heart of the nonprofit and its refuge.

As founder and CEO, she was the driving force who never gave up on the people she served or the charitable community that supported her work. Each fall, she put together a calendar of churches offering to host the center during the winter months, spending hours calling pastors or knocking on parish doors until she had enough churches to fill out your winter list.

She would be very happy to know that a new shelter will be in place this winter.

“We’re trying to carry on his legacy,” Joy said of Goodrich.

However, since the COVID pandemic, things have changed.

Now, rather than a rotating shelter in which homeless people move to accommodate churches across the county, Joy, working with a group of churches and individuals, including retired pastor Lew Stier, has been meeting since April to try to establish a permanent shelter in Trinity. The WAVE Project is also collaborating on the project, known for its traveling showers and garment van.

“Once word spread about what we were doing, it grew exponentially,” Joy said. “We are committed to making this happen.” »

If all goes as planned and donations continue, during the coldest winter months the program will provide shelter and food for 100 people, although it is likely no one will be turned away.

“We won’t have the capacity,” Joy said. “If we have to put cots in the lobby, so be it.”

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

The Warming Center has about a dozen churches that have offered to serve as hosts but could always use more.

A separate company will handle shelter security.

Churches that volunteer to host for a week will be responsible for the evening meal and a packed breakfast the following morning. Volunteers can also provide help with reception and laundry services or acts of kindness that can make all the difference in the world to someone wandering the streets.

“When we’re not filling a plate with food or setting up a crib, we’re having conversations that bring love and hope,” Joy said.

For more information or to donate, visit waveproject.org/macomb-county-winter-shelter.html

Originally published: November 1, 2024 at 7:31 a.m. EDT