Volunteers enable outreach to homeless

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Peter and Paul Community Services volunteer Andy Alaska gave his signature ‘Love You Man Hand Bump’ to substance abuse counselor Jerry Westmoreland at the meals program. In 2010 the program served 29,754 meals to residents of the emergency shelter, as well as to needy families in the Soulard area. The meals program provides an evening meal 20 days each month and is served by volunteers from 19 different groups. Alaska, who has been giving his time to the parish and its ministry since the 1950s, will be among those honored at the Peter and Paul Community Services Volunteer Appreciation Party.

Peter and Paul Community Services will present five volunteer appreciation awards at an event Thursday, Dec. 1, that is part of observances of the agency’s 30th anniversary of providing services to people who are homeless.

Thousands of supporters keep the doors at Peter and Paul Community Services open each year. Their support for the mission is seen as paramount to the success of individuals who are trying to better their lives in spite of tremendous odds.

The awards and recipients are:

• Hope Award — St. Joseph’s Academy Angel Outreach;

• Empowerment Award — Eileen and Don Embree, longtime volunteers from St. Justin Martyr Parish in Sunset Hills;

• Compassion Award — Andy Alaska, a longtime volunteer and parishioner at Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in South St. Louis;

• Hospitality Award — Auxiliary Bishop Edward Rice, for his years of getting seminarians involved at the meals program;

• Independence Award — Dushon Brent, an alumnus.

The Hope Award recognizes a youth or young adult from the community whose commitment to helping those who are homeless exceeds expectations. The Empowerment Award recognizes a volunteer donor or group of donors who, in addition to years of service, have taken steps to ensure the longevity of the agency’s mission through financial contributions.

The Compassion Award honors a volunteer who has made the conscious choice to align his or her life with those in need of healing. The Hospitality Award honors volunteer groups or organizers who exemplify St. Paul’s letter to the Hebrews, “… do not neglect to show hospitality, for by that means some have entertained angels without knowing it.” In their wisdom, these committed individuals embody the adages that many hands make light work, that strength comes from numbers, that the whole is greater than its parts and that to love another person is to see the face of God.

The Independence Award is presented to a program alum who has volunteered for the agency as a way of giving back and saying “thank you.”

Bishop Rice first became involved while on the faculty at St. Mary’s High School when he began to accompany high school students to the soup kitchen at Sts. Peter and Paul Parish. What began as a service project soon became a “labor of love.”

When transfered to the college seminary, he made the soup kitchen at Sts. Peter and Paul and St. Vincent de Paul a weekly part of the seminary program. The juniors of Cardinal Glennon College Seminary continue to assist in serving the patrons who come for a hot meal. They also help with the clean up after the meals have been served.

Peter and Paul Community Services is the nonprofit agency committed to the most difficult-to-help homeless population — those who are chronically homeless. Cases involve severe mental illness, HIV/AIDS, or drug or alcohol addiction for those who have refused or been denied help by other programs.

Begun in 1981 by parishioners at Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in the Soulard neighborhood as a seasonal shelter, the number of people being served soon outgrew the space, and the shelter was moved to the basement of the church. After further growth, the shelter program became a collaborative effort of three neighborhood churches: Trinity Lutheran Church, St. Vincent de Paul, and Sts. Peter and Paul.

Peter and Paul Community Services (PPCS) today manages three transitional housing programs, an emergency shelter, and a meals programs serving over 1,500 unduplicated clients annually. PPCS offers shelter, food, psychiatric care, job skills training, help for chemical addictions, and a welcoming community for those who are lonely. More than 1,000 volunteers donate approximately 8,000 hours of service each year.

For more information, see ppcsinc.org.