By TAMI QUIGLEY Staff writer
“Working Together to End Homelessness in Schuylkill County” is the tagline prominently featured on the website of Servants to All, which received a $10,000 grant this year from the Diocese of Allentown Local Poverty Relief Fund to bolster its mission.
The grant specifically aided the organization’s My Father’s House, which provides emergency shelter and supportive services.
Servants to All also received grants the three previous years.
My Father’s House is a safe and caring environment that serves Schuylkill County by providing housing, material goods, and supportive services to homeless men and women striving to obtain sustainable independence.
“We operate a Day Center at 4 S. Centre St. in Pottsville that operates as the main hub of the program,” said Jeanette Traino Sinn, executive director.
“We also operate an overnight facility at the United Presbyterian Church, which provides 13 beds for men and women while they work to complete their goals with our case managers at the Day Center.”
United Presbyterian Church is located at 214 Mahantongo St., Pottsville.
Services include spiritual nourishment, food, clothing, material goods, personal goods, transportation, shelter, education and training.
Traino Sinn said visiting priests aid with spiritual nourishment by such things as joining morning prayer or fulfilling special requests such as joining events, or one-on-one time with clients for individual needs.
The mission statement of Servants to All states: “Through the love of the Father, we work to restore dignity, build integrity, instill accountability, and thus transform the lives of poor and displaced individuals and families. Our programs are tailored to foster self-reliance and sustainability by empowering individuals to make positive life choices. Because we are God’s first, we are servants to all.”
Servants to All describes its beliefs and values this way: We believe in “community,” cohesive society which encourages, supports and provides opportunity for each member to realize its highest and best use of their God-given talents. It believes in being uniquely created by God with talent and dignity – every individual, especially the poor, homeless and elderly, is meant by God to support and be supported by its community in order to create growth and flourish. No person is a solitary being.
The vision of My Father’s House is to seek to provide effective programs allowing for lasting resettlement of displaced individuals who have multiple and complex needs.
The mission is to break the cycle of repeat homelessness by strengthening the individual’s internal mechanisms related to positive life choices, and by building partnerships and deep foundations before building bridges to sustainable independence.
Through compassionate, intensive training, the goal is to reintroduce capable, confident and well adjusted members into society.
The funding received by the 2019 grant helped provide supportive services to homeless and at-risk individuals in Schuylkill County and the surrounding counties.
These services include emergency housing, food, clothing, personal care items, material goods, transportation assistance, prescriptions and copays, identification cards such as birth certificates and ID cards, temporary housing and security deposits, as well as rental and/or utility assistance.
Servants to All was incorporated Sept. 26, 2012 and granted tax-exemption as a 501 (c) (3). It operated as a temporary winter shelter from February to May 2014, and purchased the day program “My Father’s House” on Dec. 1, 2014.
In November 2015 Servants to All began distributing clothing and supplies to the poor and homeless, and began providing clients hotel and rooming house vouchers, as well as supportive services.
Servants to All opened its overnight shelter on Nov. 15, 2016 and continues today to provide overnight shelter to men and women.
Servants to All serves a wide range of people in need and plays a large role in reducing homelessness in Schuylkill County, including specific and targeted vulnerable populations, such as veterans, persons with disabilities, re-entry population, and families and youth.
It also supports the needs of the elderly in collaboration with local Senior Services and Adult Protective Services.
“The target population of the people we serve are sleeping in places not meant for human habitation, people being discharged from an institution with no permanent residence available, people who would be discharged from an institution if there was a permanent residence available and displaced victims of domestic violence,” said Traino Sinn.
In 2018, Servants to All provided emergency housing to 146 homeless individuals and provided supportive services to 309 individuals. “During the next 12 months, we expect to provide housing to over 150 different individuals and assist over 500 individuals with personal needs,” said Traino Sinn.
Today it has 10 employees and more than 50 volunteers that continue the work that its board of directors began.
The board launched Servants to All with the mission to help those in need, and to be servants for our heavenly Father. The board is comprised of 14 individuals from Schuylkill County that bring diverse skills and experience.
For more information on Servants to All, call 570-728-2917, email [email protected] or visit www.servantstoall.org.
Tim’s Success Story
Tim, of Schuylkill County, first shared his success story April 6, 2018.
When Tim first arrived at Servants to All, he had almost nothing – no identification, no money, no housing, no clothes other than what he was wearing and no support system. What he did have was a series of life experiences that had turned him into a person he wanted to change.
Now Tim has a family, two jobs, a house and a new outlook on life. Tim credits his progress not just to Servants to All’s programming, but to the staff as well.
He said the goal-setting process is what ultimately helped him change his life around. He set his plans, and the staff made sure he met those goals by providing support, guidance and keeping him “true to the course.”
While Servants to All met Tim’s basic survival needs of food, shelter and clothing, he was able to focus on finding a job and saving enough money to get back on his feet.
“There were times when I was tempted to go back to what I had always known, but they helped me see another way,” he said.
Now he chooses to give back to the program. Working around his busy schedule and taking care of his infant son, Tim stops in to bring food donations, help with building upkeep, assist with moving donated materials and, perhaps most important, talk with and mentor people who might be in a similar situation.
Tim said while everyone comes from different backgrounds, everyone has the same goal toward personal progress. His experience at Servants to All taught him to give more than he takes in life.
“If I help even one person, it’s worth it,” Tim said. He’s grateful the program exists so it could help him and continue to do the same for others. He said he could not stress enough just how much the staff at Servants to All helped his life.
When people tell Tim they need assistance, he always sends them to Servants to All because, “They’ll help you. If you need help, they’ll help you. They’re good people. Good program.”
Oscar’s Success Story
Oscar, of Schuylkill County, first shared his success story June 20, 2018.
Oscar said he was homeless and had hit rock bottom, nearing a breakdown, when he found Servants to All. With help from the organization, things started to look less bleak.
“You really pulled me out of the gutter. I was thinking bad things then,” Oscar said.
Oscar said he would recommend Servants to All to anyone in need. Servants to All helped connect him with resources he never would have known about, such as the rapid rehousing program.
Oscar stayed at Servants to All’s overnight shelter while he went through the rapid rehousing process. He had a place to sleep during the time it took him to locate an apartment, assemble the necessary paperwork, have the apartment inspected and move into the apartment.
Servants to All and its case managers were able to provide him support during the daytime.
In addition to the support regarding rapid rehousing, Oscar received assistance with food, transportation and clothing.
“I thank God you guys were there for me. I would’ve never made it without you guys. You helped me get my life back together,” Oscar said. “I think Servants to All is the best.”
Oscar said he also met a lot of good people and made good friends through Servants to All. He said everyone he has dealt with so far has been “tremendously nice, good and helpful.”
Oscar still comes by Servants to All to visit and help out current clients.
The welcoming environment and staff at Servants to All allow him to pay it forward and help other people.
“It’s like I have a new family,” Oscar said.
