The Warming Shelter is needed because of the unfortunate poverty and housing crisis in the United States. Due to inflation, unemployment, and many other issues, there were over 650,000 unhoused people in the United States in 2023, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. It’s very difficult for unhoused people to be sheltered and to eat healthy meals, so the Alameda Warming Shelter provides those services, as do many other shelters across the country. Although these shelters can’t solve homelessness, they can help many people feel respected again, since they are often dehumanized. The Warming Shelter strives to support as many unhoused people as they can, for as long as it is possible.

This shelter is incredibly beneficial for unhoused and underprivileged people in Alameda. By cooking food, volunteering to serve, and learning about other donation needs, you are helping to continue the work of the shelter. Without a community to support it, the shelter could not happen and people could not get a hot meal and a safe place to stay. 

When you volunteer with the shelter, even just by cooking a dish, you are helping people feel safe and cared for, and you are also showing that you respect them. The people who stay at the shelter are always incredibly grateful and kind to anyone and everyone who volunteers, and so is everyone who works at the shelter. 

This shelter couldn’t run without our incredible volunteers, so finding and keeping dedicated people as volunteers is the most important thing we can do. The warming shelter needs your help with meal preparation and service. 

The professional, experienced staff will warmly welcome you and guide you during your time at the shelter. The volunteers provide a support system for the leaders of the shelter while helping the wheels of the shelter turn smoothly. Having volunteers with diverse backgrounds  is also important and introduces a variety of meals to the guests. Everyone loves variety in what they eat, including the guests of the shelter. When we have lots of different people cooking, it brings in meals of all kinds, and having a diversity of food also represents the different backgrounds of the guests. 

There are many ways the shelter can benefit volunteers. 

First of all, it can teach you lessons in talking to and communicating with people. You can learn how to serve food and have polite conversations with people, even if they’re different from you. 

You can also practice cooking and test out new recipes for the shelter. Supporting the shelter can also help you feel like you are making a good impact on the world and doing good deeds (because you are!). 

Finally, students can get community service hours. For schools in the Alameda Unified School District (AUSD), students need 20 hours of community service in both middle and high school in order to graduate. Working at the shelter is a great way to earn these hours, and it’s not a difficult task. You would be supporting your community and helping people who need it while also helping yourself. 

Not only do you have a friendly face nearby while you’re serving dinner, but it can also be a way to bond with your friends. For example, you and a friend could cook a dish for the shelter together. You would be having fun, but also doing good in the community you live in. 

Doing this with a friend can also make volunteering easier, and make you want to come back to volunteer again, which is always welcome. It might also be nice for the guests to see younger people having a lot of fun because it can be refreshing to see genuine friendships. 

Yes! If you’re interested in feeding people but not so interested in serving hot dinner, you can participate with the Alameda Lunch Elves. They provide 20 bagged lunches every weekday all year long to the Village of Love shelter located on Alameda Point. You can get more information by emailing/contacting Alisa Rasera-Holden, the Shelter Meal Coordinator, at frolikdance@gmail.com.