- April 23, 2024
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The Sheltering Tree held its annual appreciation dinner to honor volunteers Sunday, Sept. 21, at the First United Methodist Church of Bunnell Fellowship Hall.
Many of the volunteers were gathered to receive individual recognition for all of their work toward taking the homeless off the street at night.
Hazel DeVeaux, who now volunteers by helping with the laundry, recalled how the Sheltering Tree got its start, thanks to Carla Traister.
“Carla and I were at Bible study together, and the next morning she found a piece of cardboard in front of our church,” DeVeaux said. “She traded that cardboard with a sleeping bag, and that’s where she decided that something had to be done.”
Traister, the director of the shelter, DeVeaux and many others have been volunteering since the shelter’s inception in 2008. Together, they dedicated over 1,300 volunteer hours in the past year, provided 460 beds in a warm and safe environment, and served nearly 1,000 hot meals.
The Sheltering Tree was designed to support the homeless and those in need to become independent contributors of society, according to Traister. Some former residents have done just that. Tommy C. has a tree service business and is living in Flagler Beach, and Alberto M. lives in Palm Coast, where he has a successful landscaping business. He just purchased a new home.
“We all do this from the heart,” board member Elaine Studnicki said. “We’re extremely excited that we have a plan of action, not just to take people off the street on a cold night, but to put them back into the mainstream society, so that they can help others.”
The Sheltering Tree is asking for more volunteers in the future to help forward the mission. Visit flaglershelteringtree.com or call 986-5824.
