{"id":163,"date":"2026-04-16T15:18:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T15:18:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/heuristic-yonath.40-160-33-16.plesk.page\/?p=163"},"modified":"2026-04-16T15:18:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T15:18:40","slug":"fresh-start-open-24-7-even-in-snowstorms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/heuristic-yonath.40-160-33-16.plesk.page\/?p=163","title":{"rendered":"Fresh start open 24\/7 – even in snowstorms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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FRESH Start staff from top, clockwise: Wenda Dinatale, Director of Operations, Amanda Zearfoss, Jay Wimmer and Chris Lopez, Support Service Coordinators.<\/div> <\/div><\/div>
\u00a0Running a 24\/7 shelter for those experiencing homelessness takes a lot of logistical planning.<\/span> <\/span>Throw a significant snowstorm in the mix and now it becomes vastly more complicated.<\/span> <\/span>But that\u2019s what the staff of the FRESH Start Emergency Shelter & Resource Center did the weekend of January 24-25 when the city of Lebanon received roughly a foot of snow.<\/span> <\/span>\u00a0Preparing for a major snowstorm requires a lot of foresight, especially with 10 guests ranging in age from one year to 58 years old.<\/span>\u201cWe come up with Plan A and Plan B of what we need to do,\u201d said Wenda Dinatale, director of Shelter Operations.<\/span> <\/span>\u201cThe first thing you start doing is to make sure guests have food and have their medications. We look at a Plan B if we lose any electric.\u201d<\/span><\/div>
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Want to help your community in a meaningful way? FRESH Start is looking for overnight volunteers to stay at the shelter. Volunteers would arrive by 9 pm, be briefed by a staff member, and then it’s lights out for guests at 10 pm. Volunteers can stay awake or sleep in a secured location within the shelter. Shifts are over around 7am when the morning staff arrive. If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, please click below to apply today!<\/strong><\/div>
<\/div> We are looking overnight volunteers<\/span> <\/a>
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\u00a0Preparation for the staff started days before. Who needs medication? When are they going to get their groceries? Have guests contacted their employers?<\/span> <\/span>\u00a0And of course, how are staff going to get here?<\/span>\u00a0\u201cThey depend on us to be here,\u201d said Jay Wimmer, support services coordinator. \u201cIf it\u2019s not staffed there\u2019s a huge problem. We all take it seriously.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0Three of the four staff members live in town, and one even walked to work and home that weekend. Another staff member trying to leave the shelter needed help digging out her vehicle from the snow. One had to park in an alley way and \u201cskated his way\u201d to the shelter carefully. Staff also shoveled and helped a neighbor dig the vehicle out of the snow with a couple of neighborhood kids.<\/span><\/div>
\u200b\u00a0Some guests were concerned about what would happen if electric did go out, but shelter said reassurance and safety of guests were their top priority.<\/span> <\/span>\u00a0This was the first significant snowstorm FRESH Start planned for since moving into the single site location at the Chestnut Street Community Center two years ago.<\/span> <\/span>\u00a0The previous model of FRESH Start was rotational among churches in Lebanon County, which meant more transportation of supplies and guests in poor weather conditions.<\/span><\/div>
\u00a0Just being in one space at one site and no longer having to transport and move people and things, this was a cake walk,\u201d Wenda said.<\/span> <\/span>\u00a0This goes for holidays and even staying overnight as well. Support Services Coordinator Amanda Zearfoss jumps in often to stay overnight if needed and often covers for other staff who may be ill or are on vacation. She also started the holiday meal for guests.<\/span> <\/span>\u00a0Support Service Coordinator Chris Lopez worked during the last holiday meal.<\/span>\u00a0\u201cI was here on Christmas Day and we were all just enjoying each other\u2019s company,\u201d he said. \u201cSome guests were making cookies, making pies and Christmas dinner.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0\u201cThe staff try to keep the holidays special for the families,\u201d Wenda added.<\/span>\u00a0And staff do this because they know what it\u2019s like to be in the guests\u2019 shoes in one way or another.<\/span> <\/span>\u00a0\u201cEveryone who is working here has walked the path that the guests walked,\u201d Wenda said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just getting a job, saving money and finding a place to go. The trauma that impacts the guests is really a huge thing to get beyond. We can relate to them and they relate to us more. We always encourage them to dream big.\u201d<\/span><\/div> <\/td>
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FRESH Start staff from top, clockwise: Wenda Dinatale, Director of Operations, Amanda Zearfoss, Jay Wimmer and Chris Lopez, Support Service Coordinators. \u00a0Running a 24\/7 shelter for those experiencing homelessness takes a lot of logistical planning. Throw a significant snowstorm in the mix and now it becomes vastly more complicated. But that\u2019s what the staff of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/heuristic-yonath.40-160-33-16.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/heuristic-yonath.40-160-33-16.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/heuristic-yonath.40-160-33-16.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heuristic-yonath.40-160-33-16.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heuristic-yonath.40-160-33-16.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/heuristic-yonath.40-160-33-16.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heuristic-yonath.40-160-33-16.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/heuristic-yonath.40-160-33-16.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heuristic-yonath.40-160-33-16.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heuristic-yonath.40-160-33-16.plesk.page\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}