By Paula Day

Atlantans have already felt the cold touch of winter in temperatures that have dipped into the 30s. Atlanta's street people also have felt that touch and Atlanta's night shelters are preparing for another four-and-a-half months of providing food and shelter for these homeless. Opening Nov. 15, St. Anthony's parish-sponsored shelter in southwest Atlanta is one of the original shelters to minister to Atlanta's needy during the winter months.

Begun in January 1982, the shelter will be staffed nightly this winter by volunteers from 32 Catholic parishes, two Catholic schools and one business. Billie and Don Nye of St. John Neumann parish in Lilburn coordinate the efforts of these volunteers.

"It gives many people the opportunity to share," commented Don Nye. "Very few come away with a negative reaction. They go to uplift and become uplifted themselves."

St. Anthony's shelter has room for 35 men; the hot casserole-style meal is enough to feed 40. The shelter offers some special services in addition to giving food and a night's lodging. One is a barber service; another is the foot ministry.

Two times a week, St. Anthony parishioner Janice Willis helps the men shampoo their hair and gives them a full cut or trim. Ms. Willis' service is characteristic of the way services come to be provided by the shelter. Don Nye points out, "Somebody comes to the shelter as a volunteer, sees a need and says to themselves, 'I can do something about that.' That's the way many of our needs are met."

A special and much needed feature of St. Anthony's shelter is its foot ministry, again begun after a volunteer realized that she personally could do something to help.

Foot problems are major problems for street people because they stand or walk much of the time, often do not have proper fitting footwear and do not have a change of shoes. Once a week two women from St. Anthony's give the shelter's guests a hot foot soak. Then they rub down the sore and calloused feet with alcohol or oil to help ease the discomfort.

Another volunteer, who worked at Fort McPherson, arranged to have a supply of overcoats given once a year to the shelter.

On a monthly basis a mobile medical unit from Saint Joseph's Hospital visits the shelter. A doctor and two nurses listen to medical complaints and dispense medicine. For more serious medical problems they make referrals to Grady Hospital, a process that can take time and can become complicated without this referral from the unit's team.

Another service offered by St. Anthony's shelter is a United Way booklet which lists a variety of useful resources. These include limited job assistance, legal aid, dental and medical care, alcohol and drug counseling services, limited housing assistance and free of charge clothing outlets.

But the shelter's nightly hot meals and lodging are the backbone of its ministry and it is in this service that hundreds of Catholics participate.

The shelter is located in the hall beneath St. Anthony's Church on the corner of Gordon and Ashby Streets in Atlanta's West End. It is easily accessible from the parking lot at the back which is between the church and the parish rectory. The large hall has a fully equipped kitchen at one end and a closed off area where volunteers may sleep or watch television. At the opposite end are the rest rooms and a shower. The open area between has tables and chairs which are folded and stacked at the end of the evening, clearing the area for the mats used for sleeping.

Volunteers are usually divided into two groups, those responsible for preparing and serving dinner and those who stay overnight. At least three persons are needed for the overnight team, so the volunteers can stay awake in shifts and also get some sleep.

In addition to the hot meal, which volunteers can prepare in the shelter's kitchen or bring in, the men also receive fruit and sandwiches in the morning.

Joyce Smith, employed by the parish as shelter manager, is on hand from 5:30 to 8:30 each weekday evening to orient the volunteers. The shelter opens to the men looking for lodging at 7 p.m. It closes at 8, allowing for time to settle in before lights out.

Rules, developed through experience, give structure and protection to the volunteers and the guests. The first 30 persons on the first night receive coupons for the next night. They retain the coupon and are assured a place, losing it only through disorderly conduct. This process establishes a degree of stability -- the same men returning night after night.

"The regulars look after you and remind you if things aren't going like they should," commented Don Nye. "They monitor each other, too. They let you know who to watch."

For Billie and Don Nye and their family, working as volunteers at the shelter has been a rewarding experience. All six of the Nye children have participated; the youngest began when she was only two. After spending a Christmas night at the shelter, the family assessment was: "The best Christmas ever!"

"The children get to sit down and talk to the men -- play cards with them. You only have to go in there one time to see that just because someone has less than you doesn't mean they are less than you are," Billie Nye commented.

But it isn't easy, especially at first, according to Don Nye. He recalls his own difficulty in responding to Phil.

Phil was a street person with only one eye and because of this disfigurement, Nye found it hard to talk with him. It was a really test of his commitment to serving Christ in the least of his brothers, Nye admits. While he didn't want to get involved with Phil, "Phil had decided he was going to talk to me all night long."

Phil made special efforts to help at the shelter, volunteering to work in the kitchen and helping with the cleanup. Over time, the Nyes noticed what seemed to be an improved sense of self-worth in Phil. When he returned the following winter, he had a glass eye. He continued to volunteer to work around the parish and eventually was hired to do odd jobs. Phil went on to get counseling and, the last time the Nyes heard, he was working at a steady job.

John, another street person, "was very upset with 'whitey' and gave us a hard time," Nye said. "You didn't want to get caught by John. He once said to me, 'You do good work here, but would you let me come to your house and take a shower?' It makes you think." Nye knew he was finally accepted when John "gave me a big hug on his own."

Several young men who find lodging at the shelter are going to school to try to better themselves, Billie Nye said, but can't afford food and shelter, while they pay for school. One shelter person goes regularly to local libraries and "reads everything he can get his hands on" in order to educate himself, she added.

Don Nye makes up the yearly schedule of volunteers and keeps it updated on a computer. Each parish that commits has a coordinator who organizes persons at the parish level who want to help. These coordinators are the Nyes' contact persons. Nye tries to spread assignments out; his goal is to assign a group to only one night a month, four nights a year. Six nights are the most any group is assigned in the present schedule.

The coming winter's schedule is complete but Nye would like to add to what he calls his "bust list" -- a list of persons who could be called at the last minute to replace overnight volunteers who can't make it.

Other shelter needs, according to Billie Nye, include new clothing: socks, stocking caps, underwear, gloves, jackets, flannel shirts. These items, gift-wrapped, are given shelter persons each night of Christmas week.

The cost of running the shelter has risen, according to manager Joyce Smith, and she points out that St. Anthony's parish is not a wealthy parish. With the recent installation of a shower, electricity bills have increased. Furnishing soap, towels, razors and toothbrushes is an additional cost. The city has raised the parish's fee for disposal because of increased waste. A committee, composed of St. Anthony's pastor and parishioners, decides how money donations are spent, Ms. Smith added.

In a letter expressing gratitude for the help of volunteers, Billie Nye says she is reminded of lines from a poem by James Russell Lowell in which Christ speaks:

"Who gives himself with his alms feeds three; Himself, his hungering neighbor, and Me."

(Persons wishing to volunteer to help at St. Anthony's shelter may contact their parish coordinator, or call Don Nye at 921-2252 or 633-4551. Donations to the shelter can be made to St. Anthony's parish at 928 Gordon Street, SW, Atlanta 30311.)