Those who seek shelter or service won’t be turned away

SOUTH END—An unmarked van rolls up to Pine Street Inn’s back lot and several men and women with shamrocks pinned to their green shirts begin to unload steaming pots and pans.

Every third Saturday of the month, about 18 members of the Holy Ghost Parish in Whitman serve a prepared meal to 300 homeless men at the shelter on Harrison Avenue. This Saturday’s dinner was in the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, with 150 pounds of corned beef, 150 pounds of potatoes and 50 pounds of cabbage.

Coffie Fields, the volunteer coordinator at Pine Street Inn, said she gets many requests from individuals and groups seeking to volunteer. Many are like those from the Holy Ghost parish, members of a local church.

“We focus on getting volunteers who show potential for long-term, consistent volunteering,” Fields said. “But we won’t turn others away unless help isn’t needed for that particular day.”

Paul Stokinger, Ed MacGilvrey, and Wayne Andrews have collectively spent over 75 years volunteering at the Inn. In the many years they have spent preparing and serving food here, they have noticed a change in the volume of homeless men they cater to.

“We used to serve up to 500, but now it’s usually somewhere between 250 and 325 people,” Stokinger said.

“And we have never run out of food,” MacGilvrey said.

They said a day of cooking in their parish kitchen and driving 20 miles to serve the food was rewarding.

“We never want to serve something that isn’t good so we try it, especially the desserts,” Andrews said.

Particularly during the holiday season in November and December there is an influx of people wishing to volunteer. Overall, the numbers of individuals and groups seeking to help at the Pine Street Inn are steady, Fields said.

According to Pine Street Inn’s annual report, nearly 60 percent of revenue, over $20 million, is government funded. Over $2.9 million is raised through in-kind donations, accounting for only 7 percent of the budget.

“We’ve been spared from cuts,” Fields said.

Though funding has been the same for the past few years, costs have continued to rise at the Inn. As a result, developmental housing projects and renovations have slowed.

A building on Upton Street is being renovated and, when completed, will be sold at market price. Originally, the building was intended to be permanent housing for homeless men and women, but changed as the result of an agreement with the Union Park Neighborhood Association.

“The decision to sell was more of an effort to appease residents of the South End, but the money doesn’t hurt,” Fields said.

Controversy came from South End residents who said that the permanent housing project could alter the character of the neighborhood. A compromise to sell one row house was made that would keep 19 units available to formerly homeless men and women.

Amid the slow development process for permanent housing, Pine Street Inn is providing emergency shelter for 450 men and women. When there aren’t enough beds, surrounding shelters are contacted until all who wish for shelter receive it.

“Yesterday, we shuttled 35 people to Pilgrim Shelter in Dorchester,” said David Johnson, a supervisor at the check-in desk. “We won’t turn anyone away just because we may be full.”