[Lekooks] Your Input is Requested Please - Time Sensitive

[Gina Magnus]

Good Morning All,

I will try to keep this as brief as possible while trying to give you the
information you need to help with this decision regarding our participation
in the "new" version of Family Promise.  I am very proud of our
congregation for being the first church to sign on with the program in 2014
and for our continued support of the program as the model changed in
response to the pandemic. The staff at Family Promise has proposed a
dramatically different model for the upcoming winter/spring months.  For
the sake of brevity, I will bullet point the rest of the information.

*  Family Promise of Waukesha County (FP)  has partnered with Hebron House
in Waukesha to manage the Emergency Overflow Shelter (EOS) for families and
singles experiencing homelessness in Waukesha County from Nov '23 - March
'24.
*  The EOS is located at 1210 Sentry Dr. and can house up to 35 people.
*  Families and Singles will be placed in the EOS only after* every other*
available shelter bed is full.
*  We have been asked to provide a meal once a month for the shelter (5
times).  Our day is currently the third Thursday of the month.  The census
will change and is weather dependent, but we should plan on feeding 35
people.  We will have census data prior to our host date, but again, it can
change quickly.

Pros:
*  This is a very vulnerable group of people who will benefit greatly from
having a safe place to stay and meals provided.
*  Trained staff from HebronHouse and FP will be onsite daily.
*  No training is required to provide the meal.  Only trained volunteers
will be able to stay and serve the food.
*  It is a 5 month commitment at this time and if enough people sign on to
provide food or $$, I believe it is doable.

Cons:
*  Feeding 35 people will be expensive and take some organizing.
*  This is an atypical volunteer experience in that we will not have many
opportunities to build relationships with other volunteers or our guests at
the EOS.
*  This is radically different from the model of FP that we signed on to in
2014. (con or simply the truth?)

I met with Rev. Matt and Phil Smith yesterday and we decided that the best
thing to do is to pose the question to all of you. *I would like you to
respond as to whether or not you think we should sign on to provide a meal
once a month for 35 people for 5 months*.  *IF you think we should, please
also let me know if you are willing to commit to providing meals/food or $$
to support the effort. * I am willing to continue to coordinate our
volunteers and the meals, but
*I cannot do this without significant help from all of you.  *

FP is looking for our answer by midweek this week.  I appreciate all input
on this matter.

Thank you, and as always I am so grateful to this congregation for the
support that you have provided for FP over the last 10 years.

gina markson magnus
262-424-7640
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