Daybreak and Beds Plus

Daybreak Center/Shepherd's Table

In the expanded spirit of St. Bernard’s Respect Life effort, St. Bernard has formed meal teams of 3-6 volunteers who serve the midday meal at Shepherd’s Table on the 1^st Wednesday and/or 1^st Friday of each month. A meal team arrives at the Daybreak Center mid-morning, prepares the meal for 50-70 persons in Daybreak’s kitchen from its pantry, serves the guests from 11:30a.m. to 12:30p.m., and does the clean up afterwards.

Daybreak Center staff are on hand to offer support and assistance to the volunteers meal teams. The food for the meals is provided by food drives and donations from parishes, local organizations, restaurants and food companies. Volunteers may also bring food donations.
     

Daybreak Center is an agency of Catholic Charities and the Diocese of Joliet that provides  emergency housing and supportive services to homeless individuals and families. Located at 611 E. Cass Street in Joliet, the center operates 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. Daybreak Center also operates a program called Shepherd’s Table, in which teams of volunteers from the surrounding area take turns serving meals to the homeless and those who are unable to provide for themselves.
     

f you are willing to serve on a St. Bernard Lunch Team for Shepherd’s Table once a month, please contact Peggy Grill ([email protected]) or Fr. Joe through the parish office.
 

Beds Plus

Beds-Plus, a not-for-profit organization that serves the homeless in the metro-Chicago area, is seeking additional volunteers to serve meals and assist with various supportive services. St. Bernard’s Parish currently has two teams of three who serve dinner to the residents at Beds-Plus. One team prepares and serves supper once a month. The other team serves an already-prepared supper twice a month. These two teams are in addition to the numerous parish volunteers who serve the homeless at the Daybreak Center in Joliet.

Since the pandemic, Beds-Plus has renewed its program with new space, staff and services. This past fall, Beds-Plus has rented out an entire motel (Aloha Motel) at 85^th & Cicero near the southwest border of Chicago and suburban Hometown. At this site, Beds-Plus provides transitional housing, food, medical assistance and other services to over seventy persons who are currently homeless. The goal of Beds-Plus is to help their clients find permanent housing through the dedicated work of its case workers. Beds Plus needs many volunteers to support their services, which includes serving three meals a day. Those interested in learning more about volunteer opportunities at Beds-Plus, please contact Peggy Grill ([email protected]) or Fr. Joe through the parish office.