Maureen's Haven

     Maureen’s Haven provides shelter five nights a week in partnership with 16 host congregations and community organizations and over 1,500 individual volunteers providing an estimated 20,000 hours of service each season!

     Maureen’s Haven is an organization that provides shelter to people without during the cold winter months. They organize a number of churches on the east end of Long Island who provide shelter (usually one night of the week). For many years, Southold Presbyterian Church has housed guests on Wednesday nights. Shelter Island Presbyterian Church is going to be partnering with Southold Presbyterian Church to help them out on Wednesday nights during this winter season.


Click here to visit the Maureen's Haven website.

What a typical evening looks like...

4:00 P.M. - Guests congregate at the day center in Riverhead for screening. The screening of guests consists of a breath-a-lyzer test and a visual monitoring of the individual’s behavior. There is a check of the person, along with a baggage check for contraband.


6:30 P.M. - Upon arrival to the host site, the guests are welcomed and registered by volunteers. Individuals then proceed to the sleeping areas to claim their bed and put down their personal belongings.


7:00 P.M. - Volunteers who have been preparing a nutritious, hot dinner for both the guests and volunteers are ready to serve approximately 35-65 people. Everyone sits down together for dinner and shares this opportunity for socialization.


8:00 P.M. to 10:00 P.M. - After dinner, guests are given the opportunity to get warm clothes, relax, talk, play cards or board games, watch a movie, or just rest.


5:00 A.M. - Volunteers (Innkeepers) stay overnight to monitor guests. At day break, a breakfast crew arrives to prepare and serve a substantial, hearty morning meal. A bagged lunch is prepared for each to take with them upon departure.


6:30 A.M. - The volunteer cleanup crew begins to break down beds and collects bedding and towels for laundering. The floors are swept and disinfected; the bathrooms and kitchen are cleaned and sanitized.


7:00 A.M. - The guests leave the facility with a bagged lunch, and are transported back to where they originated.

How you can get involved...

The people who are Shelter Island Presbyterian Church have covenanted to partner with Southold Presbyterian Church to support Maureen’s Haven in the following four ways:


  1. Sending a “dinner team” every 7 weeks - Starting the second Wednesday of the year, SIPC will be sending a team to Southold Presbyterian Church every seven weeks (for a total of about three times throughout the season) to help prepare and serve the dinner for that evening as well as to help clean up. This team would gather at SIPC and then travel to Southold and would return later that evening.
  2. Preparing the bagged lunches on the third Wednesdays of the month - Starting the second Wednesday of November,  SIPC will be preparing the bagged lunches that will be distributed to the guests upon their departure of the host site on Thursday morning. This team will assemble right here at Shelter Island Presbyterian Church to prepare the bagged lunches and then someone will drive the lunches to Southold. This is a great way to get involved if you are unable to physically go to Southold.
  3. Spending the night as “Innkeeper” to monitor the guests - On any Wednesday from November to the end of March, you can join others by spending the night at Southold Presbyterian Church with the guests.
  4. Donating toiletry items - there will be bins placed in the SIPC Fellowship Hall closer to the holidays where you can help us donate toiletry items that will be taken to and distributed at Southold Presbyterian Church to the guests at Maureen’s Haven.

Please note that the options above are not mutually exclusive; you can do one or any combination of the above. Also, please note that volunteering for one date does not mean that you are committing to doing every date. If you are interested in signing up for one of the dates below (or would like to learn more about how you can be involved), please call or email the Church office.