local
Shir Ami in Newtown Helping to House
Homeless During Holiday Season
T he Lower Bucks County homeless
population in towns like Bristol,
Levittown and Fairless Hills
has grown in recent years, according to
Advocates for the Homeless & Th ose
In Need, a local organization that tries
to help. And it has not only grown, but
changed. Before COVID-19, the population con-
sisted of people in their 50s and 60s with
longtime addiction and alcohol issues.

But today, the group includes younger
people, some in their 30s, who are doing
harder drugs like fentanyl.

Th e growth of the local homeless pop-
ulation has increased the need for help
from area religious organizations. And
a prominent Jewish one, Shir Ami in
Newtown, is stepping up.

For the entire month of December,
Shir Ami leaders and members have
been transforming their social hall into
a homeless shelter in the evenings. When
a Code Blue situation emerges, according
to Bucks County authorities, or when
the nighttime temperature drops to 26
degrees or below, this group of wealthier
Jews springs into action.

Several synagogue members prepare
food, open up cots and serve dinner to
the people who need to spend the night.

Th en, in the morning, they lay out a
quick breakfast that the locals can take on
the go. Shir Ami Rabbi Charles Briskin
estimates that the temple has opened its
doors on eight diff erent nights this month
so far. And it may need to do so for most
of the rest of the month, with colder tem-
peratures in the forecast for the fi nal week
of 2022. Roughly eight to 10 people come
in per night, and none of them are Jewish.

But that doesn’t matter, Briskin said.

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The social hall inside Shir Ami in Newtown
“I think the reason why Shir Ami is
doing this is because we were asked,” the
rabbi added.

Advocates for the Homeless & Th ose
in Need is based in Bucks County, and it
enlists local churches and synagogues to
help house the homeless population on
nights when it is unsafe to stay outside,
according to Karen Mineo, the organiza-
tion’s executive director. In January, the
Woodside Church in Yardley will pick up
the task. Th en, in February, the Calgary
Baptist Church in Bristol will take over.

But before Th anksgiving, Mineo and
AHTN needed a volunteer institution
for December. So they put out a call in
the Bucks County Courier Times and
via email to 100 houses of worship. Phil
Nordlinger, Shir Ami’s director of oper-
ations, saw the article in the Courier
Times and reached out to Mineo. She
then contacted Briskin, who asked the
chairs of the temple’s Tikkun Olam
Committee, Essie Cherkin and Barbara
Roth, to lead the eff ort. According to
Briskin, the women “said yes before they
even knew what it entailed.” So did about
50 or 60 members of the Shir Ami com-
munity, who responded to the call for
help from Cherkin and Roth by off ering
their time.

Every night this month, the Shir Ami
congregants are ready to mobilize. So
when Cherkin and Roth put the word
out, volunteers come. Th ey set up the cots
and tables before people arrive, and then
they welcome them in, say a few words
and get to work cooking the food. Th e
dinner can either be cooked or heated
up, while the breakfast is something
like cereal or to-go bars. As the rabbi
explained, “We serve a meal, and we
schmooze with them.” Several members
came by to help on the fi rst night of
Chanukah on Dec. 18.

“We would not have had a space. Th ey
were our savior. Th ey came through for
us,” Mineo said.

According to Briskin, helping in this
situation is in line with the Jewish value
of tikkun olam, or healing the world. It’s
also about recognizing “the dignity of
every human being.” But as evidenced
by the churches that off er their services
as well, those are not just Jewish values.

Th is is an eff ort that transcends any sin-
gle religion.

Mineo is not Jewish. But she under-
stood why the Jewish residents of Lower
Bucks County wanted to volunteer.

“Th ey are totally in line with trying
to help the vulnerable communities
with dignity, shelter, food,” the executive
director said. “Basic human needs.”
Th ese are needs that, sadly, are unlikely
to be fully met in 2023, either. AHTN is
pretty certain that it will need institutions
to volunteer their services next year, too.

And Shir Ami leaders and members want
to help out again. Briskin noted that his
synagogue has more than enough volun-
teers and space to handle an eff ort like this.

“We hope this can be part of what
we do every December,” he said. “Th e
response has been overwhelmingly
positive.” JE
jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com
Photo by Crystal Myers
Jarrad Saff ren | Staff Writer