Beyond Controversy: A Video Profile of The Sheltering Tree, Flagler’s Cold-Weather Shelter
FlaglerLive | January 27, 2011
The cold-weather shelter also provides clothing and shoes to the homeless.
In the last few days, organizers and volunteers for The Sheltering Tree, Flagler County’s only cold-weather shelter for the homeless, have found themselves defending the shelter from vague and so far anonymous criticism that nevertheless caught the attention of the Bunnell City Commission. The Sheltering Tree runs the shelter, when night temperatures fall to 40 or below, out of the big meeting room at Bunnell’s First United Methodist Church on Pine Tree Lane in Bunnell. Bunnell Mayor Catherine Robinson said the matter may be discussed more formally at a subsequent meeting of the commission.
To Help The Sheltering Tree:
- Donations may be dropped off at Bunnell’s First United Methodist Church during business hours, at 205 N. Pine Street
- Printable version of Shelter’s Needs
- You may also call Lee Willman, who heads the shelter’s board at 386/597-2774 to find out more on how you can help.
Advocates reminded commissioners of the work The Sheltering Tree does, and the service the shelter provides. Many people, maybe most, don’t know precisely what the cold-weather shelter is or what it does, and most certainly have never been inside it or heard the people it helps in their own voices. Misconceptions are rife.
Charlotte Marten, who covered Monday’s commission meeting (see the video here) was at the shelter Wednesday evening, when it opened for the 24th or 25th time this season, and spoke to volunteers, homeless guests and the center’s director.
Here’s Marten’s special report.
See Also:
- Ghost Opposition to Cold-Weather Shelter Draws Out Advocates in Bunnell
- A Night at the Homeless Shelter: From the Eyes of a Volunteer
- The Sheltering Tree, Flagler’s Cold-Weather Homeless Shelter, Calls for Your Help
I think the effort is commendable, but as a resident of Bunnell my perspective may be slightly skewed. The issue is that bus loads of homeless people are being bussed in from Ormond FUMCH makes me a bit curious. Why don’t they provide this commendable service in their own community? Bunnell is slowly becoming the slum of Flagler County. Property values will be impacted, and if you are selling a house or trying to grow a business in Bunnell, good luck. Panhandling and homeless people walking the streets will certainly contribute to what many realtors already recommend, which is to not move to Bunnell.Why don’t the other churches in the area share in the good deed and rotate the shelter. I am sure we could just as easily bus people to a shelter in Palm Coast or Flagler Beach.
What a clean space and what a great job everyone with The Sheltering Tree is doing. @Tammy, you are very wrong. Not a single business has publicly stated a complaint about the shelter and in the last commissioner’s meeting not a single resident of Bunnell spoke about any existing discontent with the location of the shelter. No resident, or business has publicly come forward at these meetings.
I say, let us help the The Sheltering Tree by finding ways and funds to provide even better service for more people. This community of Bunnell must step up and lead the way in helping those that are in a period of transition.
I call out to the community of Bunnell, the churches of Bunnell, and the citizen of Bunnell to voice their support for this humanitarian cause at the next commissioners meeting. They can do so during the open public forum part of the agenda. Unlike the “ghost businesses that used the Mayor to inject negative comments at the last meeting, step forward and let the City know that Bunnell has more than a Heart; they know right from wrong.
Rudy, I appreciate your opinion. If you are a resident of Bunnell, I encourage you to speak at the meeting, too. I don’t think this a the responsibility for Bunnell. It a county responsibility as well…that would include residents of Palm Coast and Flagler Beach, too. I also think the people of Volusia County should step up and do this is Ormond rather than conveniently buzzing people here. The community and shelter board need to be working toward the county having a centrally located shelter year round. They should be helping people get back on their feet through working with social services. What happens now is that they are shipped in and when the weather warms up they wander around the community living in wooded areas. This is not good for the homeless or the community. I have seen numerous men who appear to live in the woods near the elementary school. We have no background information, and as a resident I have great concerns. I don’t want to see anyone go hungry or sleep in the cold, but for the few nights of below 40 degree weather this community deals with a much larger homeless issue year round. The church is located in a residential area. It may be close to businesses but it is in a residential area.
Tammy, I feel you are really misinformed….The homeless are not buzzed up to Bunnell, they are bused & in the morning they are bused back to Daytona – very early – these people are not the ones you are finding in the woods. For more acurate information you should contact Carla as she oversees so much of this program – you might not be so cold hearted. I live in Palm Coast & I do volunteer at the Sheltering Tree. For you information PC has some homeless too.
These people are not there by choice many of them due to unexpected circumstances!
Ellen, on the contrary. They are bussed and many of them choose to stay. I was at the church today and there were homeless men hanging around out front and sleeping in the courtyard. I see this first hand. I am sure that Carla is not there 24/7 to see what goes on. I live here and see it with my own eyes. Perhaps you should visit when it is 70 degrees and sunny outside. They are leaving the bathrooms and the courtyard unlocked so they can sleep there any night. That doesn’t sound like just a cold weather shelter. Please Ellen, come and hang around the neighborhood when Bob and Carla are not there and you will see a different picture.
So what if the homeless are sleeping on church property at night? So what if they’re using the bathrooms (which the church expressly invites them to do)? So what if they’re hanging around there? a church, for god’s sake, whether it’s 70 or 90 or 50? And so blessedly what if it’s not merely a cold-weather shelter? How, how are these people hurting anyone, bothering anyone, aside from assaulting some people’s weird sensibilities that, somehow, poverty should be heard of but never seen? I’d invite a couple to set up tents in my backyard but as you well know Palm Coast is a bit of a code enforcement police state, where the homeless are, like gays in Iran, presumed not to exist. At least First United, rare among churches, is living up to its stated mission in every way, primarily by ministering to the poor. The poor are already invisible by definition, a homeless person in our society having less dignity and respect, in most people’s eyes, than an errant dog. Now their invisibility should clear out, too. The Gospel according to Luke must be a banned book in Bunnell. Or at least a segregated one: good for Sunday services, but please, no preaching about the poor beyond that, let alone ministering to them in full view.
To end the misinformation about the cold-weather shelter, please read the full response here.