San Francisco Interfaith Council CC | North America
When Garret Collins, a piano player from San Francisco, visited a homeless shelter at a church in late 2008 and offered his services, he had no idea he would soon be a resident. For the next few months, as the shelter moved from church to church on San Francisco’s Cathedral Hill, he followed along, playing music and bringing cheer to its down-and-out residents. Then, a short time later when he lost his job and his house, Collins knew where to turn. A project of the San Francisco Interfaith Council CC, the Interfaith Winter Shelter Program, provides beds for 80-100 homeless men in the city each night during the winter months, and coordinates meals prepared by congregations throughout the city. It is one of several humanitarian and interfaith trust-building projects of the council, which was established in the aftermath of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake to support San Francisco’s greatest needs and bring people of different faith traditions together in understanding.
