Fresh start open 24/7 - even in snowstorms

FRESH Start staff from top, clockwise: Wenda Dinatale, Director of Operations, Amanda Zearfoss, Jay Wimmer and Chris Lopez, Support Service Coordinators.

 Running a 24/7 shelter for those experiencing homelessness takes a lot of logistical planning.
Throw a significant snowstorm in the mix and now it becomes vastly more complicated.
But that’s what the staff of the FRESH Start Emergency Shelter & Resource Center did the weekend of January 24-25 when the city of Lebanon received roughly a foot of snow.
 Preparing for a major snowstorm requires a lot of foresight, especially with 10 guests ranging in age from one year to 58 years old.
“We come up with Plan A and Plan B of what we need to do,” said Wenda Dinatale, director of Shelter Operations. “The first thing you start doing is to make sure guests have food and have their medications. We look at a Plan B if we lose any electric.”

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Want to help your community in a meaningful way? FRESH Start is looking for overnight volunteers to stay at the shelter. Volunteers would arrive by 9 pm, be briefed by a staff member, and then it's lights out for guests at 10 pm. Volunteers can stay awake or sleep in a secured location within the shelter. Shifts are over around 7am when the morning staff arrive. If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, please click below to apply today!

We are looking overnight volunteers

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 Preparation for the staff started days before. Who needs medication? When are they going to get their groceries? Have guests contacted their employers?
 And of course, how are staff going to get here?
 “They depend on us to be here,” said Jay Wimmer, support services coordinator. “If it’s not staffed there’s a huge problem. We all take it seriously.”
 Three of the four staff members live in town, and one even walked to work and home that weekend. Another staff member trying to leave the shelter needed help digging out her vehicle from the snow. One had to park in an alley way and “skated his way” to the shelter carefully. Staff also shoveled and helped a neighbor dig the vehicle out of the snow with a couple of neighborhood kids.

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​ Some guests were concerned about what would happen if electric did go out, but shelter said reassurance and safety of guests were their top priority.
 This was the first significant snowstorm FRESH Start planned for since moving into the single site location at the Chestnut Street Community Center two years ago.
 The previous model of FRESH Start was rotational among churches in Lebanon County, which meant more transportation of supplies and guests in poor weather conditions.

 Just being in one space at one site and no longer having to transport and move people and things, this was a cake walk,” Wenda said.
 This goes for holidays and even staying overnight as well. Support Services Coordinator Amanda Zearfoss jumps in often to stay overnight if needed and often covers for other staff who may be ill or are on vacation. She also started the holiday meal for guests.
 Support Service Coordinator Chris Lopez worked during the last holiday meal.
 “I was here on Christmas Day and we were all just enjoying each other’s company,” he said. “Some guests were making cookies, making pies and Christmas dinner.”
 “The staff try to keep the holidays special for the families,” Wenda added.
 And staff do this because they know what it’s like to be in the guests’ shoes in one way or another.
 “Everyone who is working here has walked the path that the guests walked,” Wenda said. “It’s not just getting a job, saving money and finding a place to go. The trauma that impacts the guests is really a huge thing to get beyond. We can relate to them and they relate to us more. We always encourage them to dream big.”