Winter Hospitality Overflow (W.H.O.) is a ministry to homeless people in the Vancouver area. A cooperative project of communities of faith and local service agencies, they provide welcome, shelter, hospitality, warm smiles, safety and meals during the coldest and wettest seasons of the year. In their seventeenth year, WHO offers shelter at both St. Paul and St. Andrew Lutheran Churches, and receives the cooperation of Share, Council for the Homeless and over 30 communities of faith in the greater Vancouver area.

Things have changed with the Winter Hospitality Overflow shelters due to Covid, but there are volunteer opportunities this year. Our church has traditionally supported the WHO program for men at St. Paul Lutheran Church. This program is now run primarily by Outsiders Inn. They have done a great job of procuring funding to help keep the shelter open, and they have assisted several of the men with locating permanent housing! Unfortunately, there is still much need, and we wanted you to know how you could help this year.

At St. Paul:

You can sign up to provide a meal using this link:

https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/04435v

You can volunteer to work a shift at the shelter using this link:

http://www.outsidersinn.org/sws

St. Andrews in the Orchards area provides winter shelter for women and families.

At St. Andrew:

You can sign up to provide a crockpot meal in February using this link:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090548aca922a2f94-standrew2

You can volunteer to work a shift at the shelter using this link:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090548aca922a2f94-whofebruary

Another way to help is to make a financial donation. Expenses are higher during Covid, so every donation is appreciated. You can make a donation using this link:
https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/CouncilfortheHomeless/Whogiving.html

Please feel free to contact Brenda Gardner at 360-601-9258 if you have questions about how to volunteer or to donate. This ministry is one Messiah committed to support when it began 17 years ago. No one expected it to be needed so much 17 years later!

Thank you for your loyal support of the WHO program!