Servants To All had some help keeping up with growing number of people seeking food and shelter over the past few cold and snowy weeks.
Girl Scout Troop 31260, Hegins and Valley View, donated more than $2,000 worth of food, clothing and hygiene products to the nonprofit organization that manages a day program for homeless called My Father’s House at 4 S. Centre St., Pottsville.
Albert Nastasi, program director, said the shelves were nearly empty before the Girl Scouts came with their donations.
“Everyone was extraordinarily touched,” Nastasi said Monday.
When dropping off the donations over the weekend, Nastasi said he talked to the Scouts about the program.
“They are well aware of the homeless problem and how it happens,” he said.
The Scouts took on the project to achieve the bronze award, the highest honor for Girl Scout Juniors. To achieve the award, the Scouts had to do a community project.
Tara Troup, troop co-leader, said their initial goal was to provide 20 hygiene kits, but then the girls went to different businesses seeking donations from shoppers and even challenged their classmates at Hegins-Hubley Elementary School to collect donations. The class with the most donations received a pizza or ice cream party.
“It has had an impact on them,” Troup said Monday. “They just saw the appreciation and were really happy they were able to help in such a way.”
Evans Delivery, Schuylkill Haven, also recently donated more than $9,000 worth of clothing, food, hygiene and outdoors supplies to Servants To All, Nastasi said.
Since the My Father’s House program started Nov. 11, 2015, Nastasi said the organization has provided services to more than 170 people. He said 65 of them were either homeless or at immediate risk of becoming homeless. The other services were for food or clothing. About 20 people in the program were able to find jobs.
Twenty-five people were assisted within the past week and eight were put up in hotels over the weekend, he said.
“This is when it is going to get busy for us,” Nastasi said.
While Schuylkill Women in Crisis operates a shelter for victims of domestic and sexual violence, the county does not have one for the general public. SWIC and various agencies in the county also have transitional housing programs that provide temporary residency while helping an individual secure permanent housing.
Servants To All wants to change that and is currently discussing an overnight shelter at a local church. Although plans and policies are still being finalized, Nastasi said those seeking shelter will be housed through the My Father’s House program.
My Father’s House intake hours are 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday. For homeless assistance, call the outreach line at 570-900-1161. Donations to Servants to All can be sent to P.O. Box 1354, Pottsville, PA 17901. For more information about Servants To All, visit the organization’s website at www.servantstoall.org.