Profile: Room in the Inn

What is Room in the Inn?  A program of the Asheville area churches for hosting up to 12 women, nightly, for one week about four times a year.  We partner in this ministry with the Unitarian Universalist congregation (UU).  

How does it help?  R.I.T.I is a major portion of Asheville's HOMEWARD BOUND program, whose aim is to have every woman in safe housing.  Women can participate for up to 90 days, during which time they are helped to find permanent housing and provided with the skills and support that will help them stay there.

What does GCPC do during that week?  Volunteers from both GCPC and the UU congregations provide all aspects of care for our guests.  This involves the following tasks:

• Receive and transfer mattresses from the preceding church - set up after worship on the beginning Sunday.  Several persons are needed for 30-45 minutes to convert Fellowship Hall into a home for R.I.T.I
• Pick up women each evening at A-Hope Center and deliver to GCPC.
• Pick up women each morning and deliver to A-Hope, near downtown.
• Provide breakfast for the women and our overnight volunteers (7 days)
• Provide bag lunches for all 7 days (The UUs have this responsibility)
• Provide supper during the week.  The volunteers bring the food, serve it, eat with the guests, and clean up afterwards. Often a family or groups will team up for this service. GCPC and the UUs share in this responsibility.
• Clean up on the last Sunday and deliver the mattresses to the next church.
• Stay overnight. The overnight volunteers are the backbone of the program.  Two members from each congregation are the overnight teams.  Fire regulations require that someone be awake at all times.  This means that volunteers may sleep through the night with the exception of their 2-hour shift.
• Overall coordinator or co-coordinators work with the UU coordinator to make sure we have mattresses and linens in place by the Sunday RITI begins, make sure the truck(s) are lined up for the last Sunday to deliver mattresses to the next church, set up a sign-up sheet and secure volunteers for all slots, and are available each evening as the women arrive, so they see a steady host/hostess

Further information on each role and other RITI info is available from Sharon Blythe, the director of the Asheville RITI program at A-Hope  828-252-8883 or riti@hbofa.org . GCPC coordinators are also happy to provide information and volunteer opportunities: Nan Clarke, Susan Presson, Sandy Jividen, and Beth Kissling.

Come and see, come and choose to show hospitality and caring for these women in the R.I.T.I. ministry.