Come join us on December 21st from 11:00am- 1:00pm for our annual holiday celebration. We will celebrate outside with festive lights, donuts, and hot chocolate.
This week, and the entire month of April, we are celebrating the amazing volunteers that keep our organization open every day. We have 40 volunteers actively staffing shifts each and every week, 14 volunteers who serve as shift supervisors, and 16 volunteers who serve on our Board of Directors.
Our volunteers come from Brunswick and area towns: Bath, West Bath, Harpswell, Orr’s Island, Topsham, and Bowdoinham.
The Gathering Place is successful as a community resource because of our wonderful, committed volunteers. They give a warm friendly welcome to everyone and listen respectfully to each guest. Volunteers enhance our safe space by cleaning and sanitizing throughout the shifts. During the pandemic, the Board of Directors approved the creation of an outside space with an awning and infrared heaters with both seating and coffee available. So a new position of an outside volunteer was created. Without the continued involvement and dedication of our 70 volunteers, we would be unable to continue serving our community.
THANK YOU!!!
This year we are celebrating the holidays a little differently at The Gathering Place. In order to ensure that everyone in our community enjoys some holiday cheer please consider donating $5.00 Hannaford gift cards, warm socks, and gloves.
Please contact Sally Hennessey with any questions at: volunteercoordinatortgp@gmail.com
|November 6, 2020|By ANN LINDNER
The Gathering Place in Brunswick represents exactly what the name says. It is a place where people are free to gather. These are extremely challenging times. The number of homeless is increasing due to many cutbacks as a direct result of the pandemic. Shelters have been forced to lower the number of occupants due to COVID restrictions. Food insecurity is rapidly growing as people’s jobs have been eliminated. For the first time in some people’s lives, they are being forced into situations they never imagined being in. They have no knowledge of what services are available, how to ask for help, or how to navigate an unfamiliar system.
There are also many people who live alone and are facing social isolation, food insecurity and struggling financially. The Gathering Place is a comfortable and safe environment where people can come, be welcomed and have a cup of coffee while visiting with another person.
Last year, I was looking for a place to volunteer and serve a Christmas dinner. Simply by chance, I walked into The Gathering Place thinking it was the food shelf. The volunteer who greeted me explained where the food shelf was and that they did not serve meals on Christmas Day. He continued to talk to me while explaining the population that The Gathering Place served and the need it served in the community. He asked me to consider volunteering there. The volunteer coordinator was not there, so he suggested I return and talk to her. When I returned, one of the volunteers was someone I knew. Ultimately, I decided to volunteer.
We all hear about the homeless population in communities and sometimes see them on the streets. I, for one, never thought much about them except to think how sad it must be. Once I started to volunteer at The Gather Place, I quickly learned that everyone is a person with a story. Some stories are more tragic than others, some have medical conditions that prevent them from working and some have just come upon hard times with no place or family to turn to for help. They are just people like everyone; unfortunately, some are struggling more than others.
The Gathering Place was open five days a week, offering those who needed a safe place to be during the day a place to come. They developed friendships and were able to connect with services. There were activities to occupy their time such as card games, puzzles and art projects. Computers, phones, cell phone chargers and receiving mail were available. Local vendors donated food. It was amazing to see people helping each other and getting to know one another. Sometimes just having another understanding person to talk to brought a smile to their face. On those bitterly cold nights last winter, The Gathering Place remained open so that the homeless would have a warm and safe place to spend the night.
Then COVID hit and The Gathering Place was forced to close. New guidelines were developed, The Gathering Place reorganized and was able to once again open its doors following social distancing, wearing masks and offering coffee, connections with services and social interactions. The summer months found most people outside unless they were using the phone or computers. As the fall started to approach and winter not far behind, The Gathering Place once again had to plan for the weather which would force people inside while maintaining the health and safety of the guests as well as the volunteers. It has been a long process but The Gathering Place has remained open and has been able to increase the number of days and hours it is open. We are currently three days a week.
These are unprecedented times with many unknowns. The numbers of people suffering from depression, anxiety and stress are increasing. The number of people needing support, help and services are increasing. Social isolation, food insecurity and financial concerns are impacting lives in ways never imagined in this country. Oftentimes it seems like there is so little one can do. Being of service is a two-way street. When one can be of service to another human being, it brings a sense of wellness and hope to both people. There are many ways to be of service. Simply smiling at someone can make a huge difference. If you have a desire and are looking for a way to be of service and give back to your community, stop by The Gathering Place and talk to one of the volunteers.
Ann Lindner is a volunteer supervisor at The Gathering Place. Giving Voice is a weekly collaboration among four local non-profit service agencies to share information and stories about their work in the community.
This story was originally published in the Times Record. Click here to visit the article.
Hi folks,
You have probably heard of the team of six from Sally’s memos. We have been meeting every Tuesday morning since mid-March- the beginning of Covid. I call us the gang of six as it sounds more exotic. Four of us from the gang (Judy Bauman, Mary, Phil and I ) have volunteered at least once a week and occasionally twice, and I thought it might be useful for you to know, from our individual points of view, what it has been like. I should also say that there has been a number of additional volunteers who have served as consistently as the gang members have.
The gang has met so consistently every Tuesday morning because operational and major physical changes have been made to protect everyone— guests and volunteers alike. Changes are still being made. An expansion of outdoor activity will continue even in the colder weather. (More about that later) Ventilation and air filtration changes are being made. And, of course, as we move inside, because of social distancing, the number of guests will be reduced quite substantially. There have been so many changes I can’t remember them all. You would have to see them. But when Judy, Mary and Phil report to you, as they will, they will report further on what is being done, as well as on their own individual experiences and impressions.
Personally, being at TGP during the summer has been a distinct pleasure. Before we opened in July, I had some concerns, and I think most volunteers and guests did, but very quickly we realized this was going to work fine. Most of us volunteering have been outside because that is where mostly the guests sit, except to use computers. We follow CDC guidelines closely, and Mary is in touch with CDC often. We have been absolutely amazed at the responsibilities that the guests seem to take during these Covid times. Not once have I had any pushback from any guest about masks or social distancing. We locate all chairs on marks on the ground which are a minimum of 6 feet apart. We have a plentiful supply of masks which we make available to guests who may have forgotten theirs. Every guest has been careful about masking except that we exempt masks while they are seated to drink coffee or smoking in the smoking area. There is an occasional lapse in mask use due to simple forgetting, but when we remind the person involved, the compliance is immediate and pleasant.
There have been no arguments, no fights, no obstreperous behavior, nothing but pleasure. Guests and volunteers tend to sit together and chat. There’s been a number of new guests, who seem to appreciate the availability of The Gathering Place. When we began on July 1, we usually had 8 or 10 guests in the morning. We have since gone to 2 full days a week and will soon go to 3 days. The numbers have since increased to a total of about 35 one day last week, usually no more than 7 or 8 at any one time. We register each guest by name and telephone number before they sit down or enter the building so that we can do contact tracing, should that become necessary.
There have been relatively few guests using the indoors as they tend to prefer to be outside. As things get colder, we are sure that will change, and we are making provisions for heated outdoor space where people can drink their coffee. We are doing that because we will require complete masks at all times indoors, and no coffee drinking, except outside. We received a generous grant for a very large awning, on the right as you approach the door to The Gathering Place, which rolls up electrically so it can be protected during nighttime or storms. We are planning outdoor heating elements under the awning which will provide for comfort except on the coldest of days. Because of Covid, we began to orient activities outside, and with the large awning and outdoor heating, we hope we can continue outside seating on fair days all winter.
Altogether, the summer has been a real pleasure and I’m inclined to think that that will continue. Guests seem to feel a greater sense of responsibility and a greater tendency for cooperation than they did prior to Covid. It has been really gratifying to see.
Whether you choose to volunteer this fall and winter is, of course, entirely up to you and your circumstances. The number of days we are able to open as the season advances will be determined by the number of volunteers. We are fortunate to have some new volunteers, very competent ones you will enjoy getting to know, including: Frank Maucier, Kathy Hirst, Dana Cary, and Ken Spidle. Also, many regular volunteers have served this summer, including: Ken Darby, Nancy Chandler, Bob Lord, Mary O’Brien, Jo-an Jacobus, Lisa Green, Judy Bauman, Les Hodgdon, Marcia King, Annie Rose, and Denise Deschaies. There has been a regular crew of supervisors all summer as well in addition to those in the gang of 6, including Colt Hitchcock, Patsy Oehl, and Madeleine Msall, Ann Lindner who is a new supervisor. Beulah Tobey and Bob Lord will be returning to their Wednesday shifts next week.
When Covid first hit in March, none of us could foresee what the future held. The reality has been wonderfully fulfilling— and easy, as well, thanks to everybody. Will it continue in the same way? I have given up predicting anything these days.
Best to each one of you,
Chick Carroll
Stay in Touch:
Thanks again for stopping by.
HOURS:
Saturday hours 8:30 am-12:00 pm,
Monday – F riday 8:30 am-3 pm
Our Physical Location:
5 Tenney Way, Brunswick,
Maine 04011 .
Our Mailing Address:
PO Box 171
Brunswick Maine 04011
Phone: (207) 729-0288
Check out the News** Tab Above
We update our news page whenever we have something exciting to report.