Coast Guard To the Rescue!

Coast Guard To the Rescue!

Locally-based Volunteers donate a day of service to Midway Shelter 

 On November 8th, Alameda-based Lieutenant Norma Smihal led a group of twenty Coast Guard  and their families to give the Midway Shelter a much-needed face lift. These donated services are the basis for a series of improvements to Midway, which serves 200 homeless women and children each year.

 About 20 energetic volunteers spent the day replacing ceiling tiles and painting interiors at the shelter.  They also hauled away three truckloads of refuse and organized the site's clothing shed. "Their energy was fantastic," says Midway's Director, Sabrina Thomas. "They just descended on the shelter and worked hard all day."

Building Futures has been operating the shelter since 2001. They work closely with local nonprofit Alameda Homeless Network, which raises funds for Midway's operations.  Services are designed to help Midway residents addresses the obstacles they face -- evictions and job loss, family violence, and mental illness, for example -- and becoming housed.     

Asked for her assessment of the day's work, Lieutenant Smihal says, "The project went extremely well. The mood of the group all day was, "'Let's keep going!' Afterward, the volunteers thanked me for connecting them with Midway. " 

Other planned improvements to Midway include exterior paint, new flooring, window coverings, and renovated bathrooms. "By the end of the year, we'll have a great-looking shelter," says Sabrina Thomas. "We're so grateful to the Coast Guard for their help."

"The Coast Guard is about giving of ourselves," says Lieutenant Smihal. "For our country, but also for our communities."  

If you would like to learn more about the Midway Shelter or ways you can help, please contact Kim Stange-Herlihy at Building Futures. She can be reached at 510-357-0205, ext. 2006 or kstange-herlihy@bfwc.org.