Home Run Events: Marquette Has Room at the Inn

Churches in Marquette Do the Graceful Thing to Help Homeless

By Bobbie Stacey - Founder of Home Run Innovations Inc.

Several churches in the city of Marquettte, Michigan are taking turns sheltering the homeless. The program, called Room at the Inn, was launched in 2007 and provides food and a warm place to sleep on cold winter nights. One church, Faith in Christ Fellowship on Wright St., has opened it's doors during the morning hours year round to serve as a warming center.

Room at the Inn is an inter-faith effort that runs by the grace of its volunteers and through the vision of its founder, Helen McCormick, who "had become heartbroken by the homeless people she encountered while volunteering at the St. Vincent de Paul Society."

Catholic Charities of the U.P. coordinates the training of Room at the Inn volunteers whose four hour assignments range from in-take and night shifts to meal preparation and laundry. The program has been averaging four guests per night and can accommodate a maximum of ten.

According to Catholic Charities Director, Laurence Ziomkowski, Room at the Inn "...shows that by working together, faith communities can address problems without relying on the government for funding.”