Emmaus house half full in second week
The Emmaus House finally opened its doors after years of
community support. In its second week, the staff has offered
shelter to several women and children in need of a safe refuge,
filling the large home to half its capacity.
Emmaus house half full in second week
The Emmaus House finally opened its doors after years of community support. In its second week, the staff has offered shelter to several women and children in need of a safe refuge, filling the large home to half its capacity.
The 10-bedroom shelter opened its doors Oct. 23 and the staff has had no glitches in their first weeks.
“Some of the [women] had been waiting for us to open and we had other agencies that have directed people here,” said Dale Yarmuth, the executive director of the shelter. “It’s been very smooth. Our forms, policies and procedures have been well received.”
With an executive board that includes members from the district attorney’s office, local law enforcement, social agencies and other nonprofits, the shelter had very specific rules and guidelines in place long before they opened their doors.
“We established procedures with law enforcement on how to accept people from them,” Yarmuth said.
Women may also contact the shelter through a free 24-hour hotline for Emmaus House: 1-877-778-7978.
In addition to guidelines for intake of families, the shelter has some rules for women staying at the shelter such as cooking for their families in the large communal kitchen and making arrangements for child care if they need to go to work or other appointments without their children. The rules were created to offer the women a sense of independence and responsibility rather than having the staff care for all the domestic needs of families.
The goal of shelter staff has always been to make the women and children who require their services as comfortable as possible. The shelter provides many of the comforts of home from play areas with donated toys to bedrooms complete with beds and cribs for children of all ages. The rooms are painted calming pastel colors and each room is unique.
Staff members even provided Halloween costumes for the handful of children staying at the shelter.
“They were able to dress up and go out trick-or-treating,” Yarmuth said. “They carved pumpkins. We are trying to make it a family atmosphere as much as possible.”
Even with a full staff, the shelter still needs more volunteers to make things run smoothly. Most of the women at Emmaus House do not have cars and with a small staff, volunteers would be a great help in driving the women to counseling appointments, job interviews and other places.
While Yarmuth applauds the community for their donations, ongoing support will be necessary to make the shelter a success.
“I just can’t say enough about the support the community has given us,” Yarmuth said. “All the community has really come forward and backed us.”
Some donations – such as food – are an ongoing necessity and though Yarmuth has worked with Community Pantry to provide some food for the families staying at Emmaus House, it is something that they will need on a continual basis. Gift cards to local grocery stores would be the perfect option for those who want to donate food, Yarmuth said.
Keeping with their goal of making the families feel at home as the holidays approach, they will plan a Thanksgiving and Christmas celebration. Yarmuth will be arranging a toy donation for the children in the coming months.
As for Thanksgiving, he said he might be cooking a few turkeys himself to share with the families.
The free 24-hour domestic violence hotline for Emmaus House is 1-877-778-7978. For community members interested in volunteering or donations, please call the Emmaus House office at 831-636-7224.
Melissa Flores can be reached at mf*****@**********ws.com.
