An Update from Toby Owen, CEO

April 23, 2020

Friends of Presbyterian Night Shelter,

It is encouraging to witness the unwavering support that our community has for those hit hardest by our global health crisis; answering the call to support local businesses, organizations, and nonprofit partners is making a lasting impact in the lives of so many. We are grateful to be a part of the community’s outpouring of generosity. 

I want to share a few updates from our campus to keep you informed on daily operations and ways you can continue supporting our guests. 

We work diligently to provide guests at Presbyterian Night Shelter with three meals a day; food is an area where we have seen incredible support and community collaboration around maintaining these efforts to offer food amidst uncertainty. In an effort to maintain social distancing between guests accessing services and resources at True Worth Place, we made the decision to suspend serving lunch, instead providing lunch through a partnership with Union Gospel Mission - Tarrant County. Presbyterian Night Shelter supporters have stepped up tremendously to support this partnership, donating sandwiches and other meals to make sure those experiencing homelessness in our community have access to food. Meals have also been generously donated to Presbyterian Night Shelter staff members that are on campus working hard to meet the basic needs of our guests.

We have much to celebrate with the support our community has provided to our mission. Amidst the celebrating, I do want to share with you that we have had one positive case of COVID-19 in our Women’s Shelter. The mitigation strategies that we developed and implemented nearly two months ago set us up to successfully move this guest, and her roommates, to mandatory isolation at the Fort Worth Convention Center and carry out additional measures to inform staff and proceed with cleaning protocols.

As we carry on with daily operations, working hard to relieve the undue burden of unbudgeted expenses, I encourage you to join us on Tuesday, May 5 as we participate in North Texas Giving Tuesday Now. This one-day event is an opportunity for the community to continue offering nonprofits across Dallas-Fort Worth support during these uncertain times. Please consider making a donation to Presbyterian Night Shelter on May 5, or scheduling your gift ahead of time.

I am thankful for the resilience of everyone in our Presbyterian Night Shelter family; guiding the journey from homeless to home has been and will always be our mission. 

Sincerely,

Toby Owen, CEO