Catholic agencies' advance plans kept services going in nasty weather
With a huge swath of the United States -- from the upper Midwest to the Atlantic Seaboard -- alternating between one-two punches of cold snaps and snowstorms, everybody's talking about the weather. Catholic service providers are also doing something about the increased need for emergency services that such weather brings.
Catholic Charities of the archdiocese of Baltimore works with Baltimore city authorities to keep people warm when a "code blue" is announced. Mary Anne O'Donnell, its director of community services, said she got the code-blue call early Sunday afternoon. That activates contingency plans to keep My Sister's Place shelter and Our Daily Bread employment center and feeding program running.
It involves having some personnel pack overnight gear and stay on site. "We try to bring in some people who might be able to work additional hours, some extra volunteers, some central staff who can work at our shelter site," O'Donnell said. With workers staying overnight and shelter clients staying indoors because of the bitter cold, "it's tight," she said. "We have people working their regular jobs, too. But people are usually very open and willing (to work) so that people can be served."
As a result, My Sister's Place and Our Daily Bread haven't closed because of weather in 31 years. This includes the "snowmageddon" of 2010. O'Donnell, an 18-year employee of Catholic Charities, knows; her first day of work was Jan. 8, 1996, the first weekday after a weekend storm blanketed much of the East Coast with 16 inches of snow.
http://ncronline.org/news/faith-parish/catholic-agencies-advance-plans-keep-services-going-nasty-weather
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