Helping those that help themselves

Torus Tammer

A helping hand is available to men in the community who are down on

their luck and in need of ethereal intervention.

The Self Help Interfaith Program, commonly referred to as SHIP, is

designed to help those who are serious about getting off the streets and

back on their feet, said the Rev. John McFarland of the Fountain Valley

Methodist Church, which hosts the program.

“These folks sleep in our church for three weeks, and the church feeds

them, helps them get jobs, and makes sure they put their money away in a

bank until they graduate, at which point they get their cash and get off

the streets,” McFarland said. “It’s a great concept and has been

successful.”

The church, which is one of 15 facilities that hosts the program

throughout the year, has been a participant for the last decade. For the

last four years, the program has been coordinated by the husband and wife

team of Bruce and Gwen Boulter.

“It’s a 120-day shelter program that helps these men get a fresh

start,” Bruce Boulter said. “We require that they have a job within 30

days, and we assist them in putting resumes together and giving them

leads for work. We give them a bus pass to get to interviews, and they

get a personal advisor to help guide them. Once employed, their personal

advisor, who is a congregation volunteer, makes sure their paycheck goes

directly into their bank account.”

He added that one of his jobs is to take care of overnighters, which

means he stays with the new men in the program the first night they sleep

at the church.

“Someone has to be there with them for the entire time,” Boulter said.

“I try to be there every morning when they leave and every evening when

they return so that the doors are open and everything is ready for them.

It’s very important to let them know that people are pulling for them to

get rid of the problem that put them on the street.”

Gwen Boulter added that the men who have successfully trudged down the

path of rehabilitation realize that without God and the people who are

helping them, they wouldn’t be back on their feet and for that, they are

all very grateful.

Additionally, she said, the environment they create is important.

“I make sure there are dinners, and if dinners haven’t been donated,

guess who does the cooking,” she said. “The men have to set a dinner

table. The idea is to make the environment as much like a home as

possible.”

She noted that the downtrodden men the church houses are either

approached on the street or come to the church for help. The maximum

capacity she said is six to eight men at a time.

“Right now in the program we have two men, until April 14 at which

point it moves to another church” Gwen Boulter said. “One man who

participated in the program a year ago is now saving for a home. I just

can’t tell you enough how amazing it is to see them get back on their

feet.”

FYI

Anybody in need of help or who knows someone who does, should contact

the SHIP coordinator at (714) 802-5800 or go to The Mission at 15161

Jackson St., Midway City.