management « Catholic Tools

The Church

Looking through my closet every winter I put together a bag of cloths to go to the local homeless shelter. Some new cloths, some very worn cloths. I just drop the bag off and take a receipt for my tax deduction later. I feel warm inside that some homeless man will feel warmer.

But what happens to that bag when it gets to the homeless shelter? It gets put in a pile, sorted, folded, shelved, and eventually given to someone in need. Simple right?

The problem is when clothing begins piling up due to a lack of space, unfolded when tried on, and when there are 30 pairs of pants size 27 waist (who has a waist that small?). The whole clothing room becomes a disaster. I have experienced this first hand.

Time and energy is then spent reorganizing the clothes constantly and when clients ask for clothing it may appear there is an abundance of supplies, what they really need is lacking. For example who gives away sports jackets. All men. Who gives away a decent pair of shoes? No one. So the homeless man has a warm jacket, but his feet are getting frost bite.

The Process – In theory only

An Inventory Management Database (The Homeless Attire Management System HAMS). Just think of how a store keeps inventory! Please stay with me….As shirts, pants, hats, gloves, jeans, arrive:

They are hung in appropriate spaces by size.
The new arrivals are inputted into the computer database
As clients arrive instead of rummaging through the clothing, the size can be searched for electronically.
When a client takes clothing it is deducted from the HAM (Homeless Attire Management System.

Yes it’s that simple, but wait here is the Benefit.

Benefit

Jesus, I trust in You

Now here is the good stuff. As donors are looking on the homeless shelter website for ideas of how to help they will see live statistics of clothing inventory with warning signals that indicate the low levels on certain articles of clothing.

Donors will now think…Maybe instead of giving them one more sports jacket to be added to make 501 sports jackets, I could give a warm winter jacket since they only have 5 winter jackets and it is January 10.

Mangers of homeless shelters will also be able to keep better track of donations and forecast how much clothing they will need for different seasons. It will also alleviate clothing going to waste or put away in storage do to the lack of space. Clothing could then be coordinated to other homeless shelters in need.

Concrete evidence of how many clothes are given out each day will give strong reasons for others to give donations. Just think of the next fund raising email sent. Just today Catholic Charities Homeless Shelter has given 55 winter jackets, 30 shirts, and 100 towels away, but we only have 2 pairs of shoes and no winter hats. These numbers could automatically be added from your database full of inventory.

St. Katherine Drexel, a famous Philadelphia Catholic saint, kept records similar to these to help in the distribution of aid to the poor of Philadelphia.

How do you think Homeless Shelters could help more people? The Catholic Church operates many around the world, but could always make improvements.