Shelters in need this holiday season

Whether it's friends or food, U-District homeless shelters are facing a shortage this winter. During the holiday season, shelters experience an increase in need but not always in the resources needed to cover it.

The University Street Ministries runs a Teen Feed program, but volunteer help is thinning as people go home for the holidays, said coordinator Eric Wirkman. The program has consistent volunteer groups that serve nightly meals, but continues to search for nightly mentors to help run the dinners, he said.

"We are not critically short but can always use more volunteers," Wirkman said.

Wirkman previously worked at the ROOTS youth shelter on Northeast 43rd Street, which has a much stronger need for volunteers during the holiday season. Nearly 100 volunteers are required each month to maintain the shelter, said ROOTS Executive Director Sinan Demirel.

"Just over a year ago, we went from being a three-night-a-week shelter to seven nights of operation every week," Demirel said in an e-mail. "This has been an enormous challenge, both in terms of volunteers and funding."

While many shelters are in need of volunteers, others have the help but lack the materials. The University District Food Bank's shelves are barer than in previous years, said food bank Director Joe Gruber. This trend has to do in part with the holiday increase of need, he said.

"[The need] goes up slightly during the holiday season because we're serving more folks and dealing with more donations," Gruber said. "We're down for the season, but at the same time we got a big spike right before Thanksgiving."

Brenda McCallon, community resources coordinator of the YMCA housing and shelter program, has seen the same trend in the YMCA's adopt-a-family program. Nearly 500 families have been adopted this year, she said.

Though many shelters are experiencing shortages, McCallon is optimistic.

"People are so generous during the holiday time we don't usually have a problem," she said.