Room in the Inn
Since 1996, Charlotte’s Urban Ministry Center has been asking colleges and congregations of many faiths to make Room in the Inn — to open their facilities one night a week to provide shelter and food for the homeless during the winter months.
Each site offers a warm, safe place to sleep, serves dinner and breakfast, offers the opportunity for guests to wash, and returns them to the Center or transit station the following morning. Creating a unique way for people of faith to become directly involved with people who are homeless, Room in the Inn pursues one primary goal: to keep homeless people from freezing on cold winter nights. The program, which brings alive the Biblical admonition to love your neighbor, begins each year on December 1 and continues through March 31.
Room in the Inn began with 20 shelter sites in the late 1990s, and has grown to include over 100 congregations and colleges, providing more than 13,000 beds for over 1,000 neighbors, and involving more than 5,000 volunteers. Holy Covenant has participated in Room in the Inn since 2002, hosting eight neighbors once each month. And with the addition of a shower in our new wing, we’ll now be able to offer an even more welcoming experience to those who stay with us.
Volunteers can help with meal preparation (dinner, breakfast and a sack lunch), room set-up and cleanup, transportation, and overnight hosting with the neighbors. Let us know if you would like to participate.