The man sat slumped, eyes lowered, struggling to make it through the Little Portion Friary shelter’s intake process. Plagued by exhaustion and several health conditions, he had been dealing with homelessness for a while now, and the physical and mental side effects were evident.
“We were really worried about him,” says Ellen Wood, Little Portion Friary executive director.
However, within just a few days as a guest at the shelter, he had transformed. A few months later, thanks in part to LPF and the assistance he found there, the man had attained permanent housing.
“Once he got some rest and his bed and a place to stay, he just made such an improvement,” Wood says. “You could tell when you talked to him – he had a smile on his face, he could have a conversation with you.”
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That is the power of a soft place to land.
LPF, a non-profit, temporary emergency shelter for 19 men and 10 women at 1305 Main St. in Buffalo, has been providing fresh starts like these since opening in 1982.
The nondenominational shelter is inspired by the Franciscan values of poverty, humility and simplicity. Primarily run by volunteers for 41 years, it now employs a small staff as volunteer numbers have decreased. However, they still play a huge role, helping handle everything from guest intake to household management to case support and counseling.
The ultimate goal? To help residents attain permanent supportive housing.
“People can stay as long or as little as they need to as long as they're working towards their goal and following our guidelines,” Wood says. “We're much more than a shelter – we're a program. The guests who stay here, they’re doing a house chore, they’re meeting with case management and they’re working toward that next step, whatever that might be.”
Volunteers are crucial to not only LPF’s operation, but its atmosphere as well.
“We are working with our guests – not from a place above or below our guests or where it’s a paid role,” Wood says. “The volunteers are here because they want to help.”
The small, home-like environment is another priority at LPF. Guests share a private bedroom with one other person, a set-up that sets it apart from the congregate setting available at many other area shelters.
“They keep that bed as long as they come back every night,” Wood says. “For people who are coming from trauma or from being homeless and that stress of being in fight or flight, it really helps them feel secure. It allows them to get to that next step and start thinking, ‘OK, I can complete X, Y and Z because I know I have this bed, I know I have food.’”
The shelter recently received a grant that will allow it to offer daytime programming and wraparound services for guests. To do so, they will be opening a second site that will provide some much-needed additional space, located about a five-minute walk down Main Street from the main shelter.
To anyone looking for a hands-on volunteer opportunity, LPF is a place where those who serve often see the direct results of their efforts in real time.
“Even if you're just answering the door and being a smiling face, people tend to tell our volunteers their story,” Wood says. “I think it really gives volunteers a meaningful experience while they're here because they get to know the people that are staying here, get to see them make progress towards their goals and really get to see their work in action.”