Our Rotating Safe Car Park is in the final stretch: residents move in this weekend. Word is getting out about safe parking. Last week the San Jose Mercury News posted an article describing the pilot program. Read the article here. The article has already resulted in an additional hosting partner.  Even though we are thrilled by the positive response so far, we need to be careful about messages. If you are approached by a member of the press to comment on the Rotating Safe Car Park shelter, please direct them to Pastor Sara. 

Thank you for your support!

After all our planning, we're excited that the RSCP will be opening on June 1! 

Karen will be calling those who signed up using our online interest form or at church over the next several weeks to work out your volunteer commitments for June.  In preparation for when she will calls you, I wanted to share some of the items she will be discussing with you:

1. Confirm interest.
2. Confirm the type of responsibility and/or shift you want to have (e.g. check-in, check-out, on call).
3. Confirm how many shifts/hours in June you would be able to contribute.
4. Schedule your volunteer commitments in June (e.g. which days and times)

After we finish our June commitment, there will be a need for us to also provide volunteer assistance to our partners that need volunteer help while they host (e.g. West Valley and West Hope).  Please note that in addition to the POP volunteers, our expectation is there will be other volunteers from other organizations also willing to assist.  Once we confirm dates and specific needs, we will share with you.  

​The POP Safe Car Park (SCP) Pilot program will open this June 1.  While we are working to get support within our community, we will not be advertising this SCP until our one year pilot is completed successfully.
 
We have continued to make good progress on all fronts.  Some examples;
1.      We’ve met with and received strong support from the Saratoga Ministerium and Saratoga City Council.
2.      We have firm commitments from two case management organizations (Amigos de Guadalupe and West Valley Community Services) who will screen and refer those who qualify to our SCP.
3.      We continue to get a strong interest and commitments from partners to participate by hosting and/or providing volunteers in this rotating SCP.  (Beth David Synagogue, Sacred Heart, West Valley College, St. Andrews, St. Judes and others not yet finalized.)
As a reminder:
1.  In May we will be reaching out to those who have shown interest and will confirm volunteer commitments, dates, assignments, etc.
2.  Also in May, we will be holding evening orientation sessions currently scheduled for May 24 & 29, to introduce our volunteers to the rules and responsibilities of running the POP SCP.
 
As always, if you have any questions, concerns and/or recommendations please don't hesitate to contact members of the leadership team (Norman Puck, Jim Wilczak, Karen Hauschildt, Bill Eklow and Pastor Sara.)

Safe Car Park, the Prince of Peace ministry to create a safe place for the homeless who live in cars to park, has enough interest to move forward. The committee has been thoroughly investigating and addressing logistics in and around Prince of Peace. We are still targeting a pilot program test starting sometime in May 2018. It's not too late to get involved. Click here to express interest and get more information.

Safe Park is a rotating shelter for homeless that live in cars and RVs.  This is a very exciting new social ministry program that will allow us to help provide our homeless neighbors a safe place to park at night in the PoP parking lot for one month.  We are working with other local faiths to cover the other 11 months per year.

Why is it "safe"?
The parking lot would not be open to just anyone. Those allowed to park are pre-screened by social service agencies. In addition there are rules to stay. Police are supportive of the program and they check-in though out the night. The homeless won't have to worry about being asked to move in the middle of the night, they can stay with their loved ones (indoor shelters do not usually allow couples or pets), plus they would have access to restrooms.

What is next?
We hope to launch this program in May, but WE NEED ADDITIONAL VOLUNTEERS
 by March 1st to ensure the effort will be successful. 

To volunteer: complete our Interest form (this will not sign you up for a shift, just let us know how many people are willing to help). 

What about...?
Many of the most common questions are answered in the presentation posted earlier this month. If your question isn't answered, feel free to contact committee member Norman Puck.

Thank you to those who made time to attend our SafePark Proposal Meeting. For those that missed the meeting, but are interested in the proposal, please see the attached presentation. 

Now is the difficult part. We need volunteers, and LOTS of them, to make this proposal a reality. 

With the end of the rotating men’s shelter in December a Social Ministry task force has been actively seeking new ways to sustain and expand Prince of Peace’s ministry to the homeless.  If you attended the January 14 and 28 FED discussions you heard about the task force’s proposals to launch two new initiatives to support this ever-increasing, underserved population.
Winter Shelter Meals
As a continuation of our long-standing meal service ministry to those in need, Prince of Peace has agreed to provide dinner for 50 guests at the Trinity Church winter shelter in Mountain View on three Mondays:  January 29, February 26, and March 26.    Since the shelter will close mid-April, the task force is also exploring additional meal opportunities that will continue our commitment into the rest of the year. 
Contact Jim Wilczak (wilczak.jim@gmail.com) if you’d like to volunteer to help with the Trinity meals or with planning the future of this important ministry.
Safe Park
The task force is also exploring establishing a rotating evening safe park program at Prince of Peace in collaboration with other local churches.  Hosting no more than 15 vehicles for a month at a time, the safe park would provide a secure evening respite for families and individuals living in their cars.  The task force has been working with local government agencies and faith-based organizations and hopes to open the shelter in late spring.
If you would like more information or would like to help with planning, please contact Norman Puck (brthrorchid@gmail.com) or Bill Eklow  (eklow56@gmail.com).

At the January 14 FED discussion, the Prince of Peace homelessness task force introduced two new initiatives to address the homelessness crisis in Santa Clara County.  One of the initiatives is to provide meal services to Trinity Shelter, a newly opened winter shelter in Mountain View, the other is to explore the possibility of establishing a monthly rotating evening safepark program at Prince of Peace in collaboration with other local faith-based organizations. 
 
The purpose of this email is to invite and encourage those who signed up as interested in the safepark initiative to attend the January 28 safepark FED discussion at 9:45,as well as the first safepark volunteer meeting on February 4th at 9:00am. This latter meeting is before the 9:45am service (one service for new member Sunday.) 
 
In establishing our collaboration with other local faith-based groups, we need to know what the volunteer base will be here at Prince of Peace. There is no commitment to participate in these meetings.  Come explore this opportunity to serve these homeless who are one step from sleeping on the streets. 
 
Thanks for your interest,
Karen Hauschildt
Homeless Task Force Team
 
A few interesting links for you:
http://homelessinthesiliconvalley.org/about/              
https://www.homefirstscc.org/blog/
http://www.storiedstreets.com/stories.htm

Please indicate your interest and availability. A committee member will follow-up with more information. This sign-up sheet will continue to remain open. Don't hesitate to sign-up, even when it is not the most current post.

Our Social Ministry team has some proposals on how we can better support the rising number of homeless in our community. Please join us January 14th and 28th between services at 9:45 for these important discussions.