‘It changes your heart.’ Volunteers serve food, offer support, at winter shelter

By Sara Beth Williams–
Homeless advocates and volunteers came together in Citrus Heights on Thursday night to serve dinner to a dozen unhoused residents, as part of a rotating annual Winter Sanctuary program.

Local homeless advocate Alfred Sanchez, who many refer to as “Snack Man,” brought together a handful of volunteers to help serve dinner for one night during the Winter Sanctuary, an annual tradition he says he has done for six years.

Sanchez, along with several volunteers recruited by him and several volunteers from Foundation Christian Church, served hot dogs, chips, potato salad, and pasta salad to 12 unsheltered individuals.

Sanchez also provided an array of snacks, including tangerines, Rice Krispies, M&Ms, prepackaged pastries, and plenty of water bottles, along with to-go bags for folks to carry any extra food in. Sanchez called adding the to-go bags “genius,” as in past years, folks didn’t have a way to carry any extra snacks with them after the evening meal.

Once a year, Sanchez purchases all the food himself for one meal, but food prices have increased significantly in the last two years, he says, and the cost of buying food for so many people may prohibit him from continuing his annual tradition after this year.

“I love these people,” Sanchez said when asked why he chooses to donate an entire meal every year. Generally, Sanchez said he has an “army” of volunteers. Sanchez said more homeless individuals will come to the winter sanctuary when it starts raining.

During the evening, Sanchez’s instructions to his volunteers were to “give the best service they’ve ever seen” to the homeless individuals who come to eat. After everyone grabbed a plate of food and settled in to eat, volunteers circulated the room and offered other snacks and drinks. Some sat with individuals at round tables just to have a conversation with them.

Unsheltered individuals must first register for the winter sanctuary program each night at Messiah Lutheran Church on Ross Drive in Citrus Heights. A bus then transports those registered to a local church for the night. Several churches are participating this year, each offering one week of sanctuary, where unhoused individuals receive a meal, a hot shower, new undergarments, a cot to sleep on, and a to-go bag of food to take with them in the morning.

Citrus Heights Homeless Assistance Resource Team President Irene Hronicek said Foundation Christian Church has a shower on the premises, which allows individuals the option to shower every night if they want. When a church doesn’t have a shower on campus, a mobile shower is brought to the location of the participating church on Mondays and Fridays. Hronicek also said the program provides free laundering services, and the Sunrise Christian Food Ministry provides all the necessary supplies for breakfast-to-go bags each morning.

Joe Botsch, a volunteer from Foundation Christian Church, said he has helped volunteer during the winter sanctuary program for five years.

“It’s something that changes your heart; it really does,” Botsch said, adding that everyone needs someone to talk to and a warm place to sleep.

So far, the program has been successful. Hronicek said there have been family reunions and at least one individual who was able to get a job through the help of resources provided during the program.

Two individuals had to be asked to not return to the program due to not following set expectations. Hronicek said this happens every year, and there are 18 different rules listed that individuals must follow. During registration, each individual signs an agreement in order to participate in the program.

One unhoused individual, who was very sick according to Hronicek, passed away overnight during the first weeks of the Winter Sanctuary. Hronicek said she was grateful he did not die in a park.

The Winter Sanctuary program, hosted by Citrus Heights HART, is an annual volunteer-run event that provides housing for those who are unsheltered for several weeks at the beginning of each year. This year, the program will last six weeks total and run until Feb. 22.

*This article has been updated to reflect the correct end date of the Winter Sanctuary