Meet Nathan Ray, the hero who coordinates the Marysville Cold Shelter, and keeps our unhoused friends warm and cozy during chilly times. But, it’s not just about providing a roof and a warm bed. Volunteers often become like family to guests, creating a bond of understanding and empathy. That’s why the shelter proudly recorded over 3000 volunteer hours last year!
To volunteer: email Nathan@lincNW.org
A huge shoutout to the Marysville Laundry Station too, for being the ultimate wingman and offering their machines for FREE to the Marysville Cold Shelter, so they can deep clean and sanitize everything for their guests!
Catch hope & encouragement with Erica on weekday mornings from 5:00 AM – 10:00 AM, and Sundays from 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
TRANSCRIPTION:
Erica:
He’s one of the difference makers. Making sure right now that our neighbors who are unhoused stay warm in this cold snap. Nathan Ray, welcome to SPIRIT 105.3. How are you?
Nathan Ray:
Doing well. Good morning, Erica.
Erica:
Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate you.
Nathan Ray:
Absolutely, absolutely, and I appreciate you helping us get the word out there.
Erica:
Oh, we care. You are the coordinator for the Marysville Cold Shelter, so what is your life like? What do you do, Nathan?
Nathan Ray:
Everything that goes into making sure that we are providing a welcoming, warm, and safe place for people in need of shelter for the night, so that we don’t have folks freezing on the streets, and potentially getting hurt or even dying.
Erica:
That’s got to be very meaningful work, my friend.
Nathan Ray:
It is. What I found is that when people get into it, it’s really hard to not continue doing it.
Erica:
Well, we are grateful for all that you do. If somebody is listening to this today and their heart is moved, they want to volunteer, what might they be doing to help our unhoused neighbors?
Nathan Ray:
I can only speak for the Marysville Cold Weather Shelter, but we have a number of different shifts that have different things that go with ’em. We have a opening shift, in which people are coming in and making sure that everything’s ready. They’re greeting guests, they’re taking temperatures, because we want to check and just make sure everybody’s safe. So, if someone has a fever or something, we might ask ’em to wear a mask. So, it’s not to spread any kind of contagion. Getting to know the guests who are coming in, if they have questions or needs, we can connect them to our community partners that may be able to help navigate and provide for some of those needs. They’re making sure that women stay safe. We have a couple of overnight shifts in which the primary thing is providing that safety for our guests. When you are unhoused, the nighttime is the scary time. That’s when there aren’t crowds of people. That’s when there’s dark, and so most of our guests tend to not be able to sleep at night. They often have to try and catch naps where they can during the day because the nighttime, they need to be aware. And so, what we can do is we can say, we have your back. We’re watching. You don’t need to worry about anything being stolen. You don’t need to worry about being assaulted. You don’t need to have those safety fears. We are watching.
Erica:
That just touches my heart.
Nathan Ray:
Yeah, it’s amazing work to do. It really is. And then of course in the morning we have our closing, where we’re making sure that beds are stripped as the guests are getting up and heading out into the chill of the day, but at least it’s the day. We get laundry done. We have a wonderful partner in Marysville, the Marysville Laundry Station, that allows us to come in and use their machines at no charge to the shelter. And so, we have volunteers who go down and depending how many people we have, they could be washing as many as 30 sets of blankets, sheets, and pillowcases on any night that we’ve been open. We sanitize, make sure that everything’s wiped down, make sure that things are vacuumed. We have a carpet cleaner to make sure that everything is cleaned up and ready so that the church has, so there’s space to stay when we’re not there.
Erica:
Yeah. I want to ask you, I know that you’ve worked with volunteers for a long time, Nathan. How do volunteers react when they see these people who are unhoused coming in need of help? Do you see a transformation in these volunteers, they realize, wow, I’m so glad I did this?
Nathan Ray:
I do. I did a in-person training and orientation over the weekend, and I asked our veteran volunteers, “Why do you do this?” And story after story of, well, I knew that people needed help, and so I came down to drop off a case of water, or I came down to drop off some hand warmers, and then I met some of the folks, and now I see them as people. And instead of just walking by on the sidewalk and looking the other direction, or averting my eyes, instead, I know people’s names. I know their stories. I greet them. I say, hi, I find out how they’re doing, and that’s really what it is. It’s that relationship and that connection that brings people back. We had over 3000 documented volunteer hours last year to ensure that people were able to have that safe, warm, welcoming place and not freeze to death.
Erica:
Oh, I’m so grateful for you. Nathan Ray, coordinator for the Marysville Cold Shelter. Thank you for being with us. Thank you to you and your team for catching the spirit. We appreciate you.
Nathan Ray:
Thank you. I appreciate you.
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