Room In The Inn

Every Saturday night from November through March, St. B's feeds and houses around 12 individuals experiencing homelessness for the night. Overnight hosts pick up a screened group of homeless guests from a downtown center and bring them back to the gym for the night. We provide dinner, breakfast, and to-go lunches. We show Christ’s love by listening to stories, telling ours, and sharing Jesus.

 

Winter 2023-24 was St. B's 38th RITI (Room in the Inn) season. More information about Room in the Inn can be found here or by contacting, Matt Poag, our St. B's RITI coordinator.  FAQs and COVID protocols are located through the Sign-Up Genius link below.


Signing Up

Opportunities to serve include:

  • Drive the church vans downtown for pick up on Saturday evening and back again on Sunday morning.
  • Prepare or Purchase a hot dinner.
  • Host guests overnight by sleeping at St. B's.
  • Provide grab-n-go lunch and breakfast items for the overnight hosts to serve. 
  • Launder linens and towels each week.

Volunteers may choose to help with one or all of these tasks. 

Volunteer Tips

  • Let a guest warm up to you at his or her own pace.
  • Do not expect guests to reveal personal information about themselves, and vice versa.
  • Avoid excessive questioning.
  • Be a good listener.
  • Always use a calm tone of voice.
  • Look at the person to whom you are talking. Try not to stand over a seated guest but meet at eye-level.
  • Mingle with the guests. Try to avoid a situation where hosts are huddled together just talking with one another.
  • Try not to play favorites.
  • Understand where guests have been that day. Life on the streets is tough.

From Room In The Inn: Ways Your Congregation Can Help Homeless People, by RITI founder Father Charles F. Strobel, pp. 55-57. A copy can be found here.