MAPC/St. James Overnight Shelter
to Reopen on July 21, 2008!
 
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ENCLOSED!

Summer Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! We trust that each of you is enjoying some summer relaxation and holiday fun. In the midst of sunny solace, plans to reopen the MAPC/St. James Overnight Shelter are underway. MAPC and St. James’ Church member participation and discipleship in this important, joint ministry remains much needed!

Resuming Our Shelter Ministry

The MAPC/St. James Overnight Shelter will resume operation at 6 pm, Monday, July 21 in a new partnership with the Grand Central Neighborhood, Inc. which operates The MainChance Drop-In Center at 120 East 32nd Street. As you know, MAPC and St. James’ Church have been involved in an advocacy effort to save the Neighborhood Center for Homeless People on East 77th Street, which the Department of Homeless Services announced in April their plans to close. Unfortunately, the final NYC budget negotiations were completed on June 30th without funding secured for the Neighborhood Center. After closing our congregational shelter on June 25, we are pleased that we were successful in negotiating a new arrangement for operation with the Grand Central Neighborhood, Inc.

The Partnership for the Homeless busing system will drop-off the shelter guests at around 7 pm beginning on July 21, and they will pick-up the men at 6:45 am the next morning. So, our shelter ministry will continue to operate with the same 6 to 8 pm Host shift and 8 pm to 7 am Overnight Monitor shift. We are thrilled to report our confidence and successful transitioning in working with the staff of Grand Central Neighborhood, Inc. and The Partnership for the Homeless. We have interviewed several other NYC congregational shelter coordinators who work with The MainChance Drop-in Center and again, we are happy to report their positive recommendations. The Grand Central Neighborhood, Inc. maintains the lowest “incident rating” of any of the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) related drop-in centers.

As our Neighborhood Center for Homeless People shut down operations due to DHS enforcement, many of our regular shelter guests were referred to The MainChance Drop-in Center. Fortunately, many of our regulars will be coming back to us in this new system of operation!

Update Sessions on New Shelter Operation and Procedures

As has been reported, it is important for each shelter participant, and for those interested in joining this ministry, to attend one of the planned Update Sessions on New Shelter Operation and Procedures. Remaining Update Sessions are planned for:

• July 21, 6-8 pm in MAPC Shelter Area
• July 29, 6-8 pm in MAPC Shelter Area
• TBA

Be sure to RSVP to Doug Grace at dgg@mapc.com to schedule your attendance for one of those dates or to express your interest in participating in MAPC’s Shelter Ministry. While we remain secure in our new plan, it is critical that each Overnight Shelter Participant is aware of new procedures and feels comfortable and confident participating in our homeless ministry.

In Your Prayers, Please Remember the Staff, Clients, Guests and Ministry of the Neighborhood Center for Homeless People

The Neighborhood Center for Homeless People (NCHP) closed its “drop-in” services on Wednesday, June 25, after a long history of cooperation with over fifteen congregations on the Upper East Side. The MAPC/St. James Overnight Shelter’s last night of operation in participation with NCHP was June 24. Many of our guests were uncertain and nervous about their future–and the Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter (NCS) has reported yet this week than many men have taken refuge in Central Park rather than transition to another drop-in center. However, staff remains hopeful that they will eventually be able to encourage former clients to go to The MainChance Center. Thank you to Terry Grace who joined Doug Grace in sharing hospitality and guidance to our shelter guests the last night of NCHP-related operation. We ask that all of you continue to pray for and give thanks for the lengthy ministry of NCHP, the staff who lost their jobs and the clients and guests who were forced to relocate. It is also worth noting that both MAPC and Jan Hus Presbyterian Church have noted an immediate 25% increase in guests attending the weekly shelter dinners at our congregations since NCHP closed.

In this transition period, the MAPC Shelter space has been “refurbished.” Thank you to Nancy Ost and Joan Dietrich for their faithfulness in their “spring cleaning” and reorganizing of the shelter kitchen and linen closet. And we extend our thanks to the MAPC maintenance staff who have completed a thorough cleaning of kitchen appliances, beds and chairs, the bathroom, the participant room, and for stripping and re-waxing the floors. We are in good shape to reopen, clean and shining for our new guests!

The OASAS Outpatient Treatment program, which is still operated by NCS has moved into the former Lester Waldman’s Shelter space, now called the Community Services Room, and will operate from 10 am to 4 pm Monday-Friday, providing an array of psychiatric and counseling programs. No overnight shelter programs are currently scheduled for the MAPC Community Services Room.

We should also recognize the efforts of our neighborhood City Councilmembers Daniel Garodnick and Jessica Lappin who “went to bat” with DHS Commissioner Robert Hess to save NCHP. The Commissioner would not commit to fund NCHP, and the NYC budget was eventually passed without additional earmarked funding for NCHP. We must faithfully acknowledge our loss of the Neighborhood Center for Homeless People, but thankfully rejoice in our new, exciting future with MainChance. MAPC and St. James congregants should feel pride in our faithful advocacy for successful homeless services on the Upper East Side.

Congregational advocacy continues! Many congregational representatives from around New York City continue to meet and strategize on our next advocacy efforts regarding continued DHS policy shifts. It is our fear that DHS will continue to close more drop-in centers in the coming year or significantly alter operations that will force all congregation shelters into a less than adequate situation. The Partnership for the Homeless sent out a vision paper last week on how future homeless services could operate from the perspective of the Congregational Emergency Shelter Network. Congregational representatives again met at MAPC on July 15 to further discuss our options and to solidify a clergy letter to Mayor Bloomberg, and other advocacy efforts. We ask for your prayers of wisdom for religious leaders, as they continue to advocate on behalf of the many congregational participants and shelter guests whom they serve.

Lastly, if you have any further comments or questions, please feel free to contact an Outreach Committee member.
 

In Christ,
Douglas G. Grace
Interim Outreach Ministry Director
Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church