All volunteers must complete a registration form and participate in an orientation session before signing up for a shift. Overnight volunteers must be at least 19 years old. All other shifts have a minimum age requirement of 16 years old unless accompanied by an adult who has gone through the registration process.

The 2023-2024 season runs from November 27th – March 15th. We operate 3 nights per week (Sunday, Thursday, Friday) plus any night the temperature drops below 32 degrees by partnering with local churches who host our guests.

Intake Shift

Intake Time: 4:00pm – 6:00pm
Bus Arrival: 5:45pm – 6:00pm
Location: Help Center
621 S. Court Street Florence, AL 35630

The term “intake” refers to the two hour window of time we spend collecting information about each guest as they sign in for the night. The intake location serves as a meeting place for our guests to be picked up by the host’s bus or our own. Our Intake Coordinator fills out paperwork for each guest documenting their name, identification, medical conditions, list of medications, and emergency contact information. Included with that paperwork is also a Guest Rules Agreement sheet that is read aloud. After signing the rules agreement, each guest is provided with a copy of our “8 Simple Rules For Staying With Home Free Haven”. Please make yourself familiar with these rules.

HFH partners with sheriff’s deputies to assist with our intake process. The deputies run each guest’s ID/SSN through their system to check for active warrants, violent offenses, and sex offenses. (Violent/sex offenders will not be permitted to stay & are given sleeping bags & warming supplies.) Deputies then perform a bag & clothing search. Any weapons/illegal substances found by the officer will be confiscated. Legal weapons are placed into labeled ziploc bags & stored in a lock box that remains on the bus.

During the intake process, it is the volunteer’s responsibility to oversee the following:

• Introducing yourself to each guest in a friendly manner & offering a handshake as a sign of respect.
• Guests are not allowed to leave the area after bag & clothing search. If this happens, they must be rechecked and in some cases will not be allowed to stay.
• Guests are not allowed to relieve themselves on The Help Center property. They must use the restroom (at another location) before bag & clothing search.
• Guests must not gather at the front of the building. We are only permitted to use the border of the parking lot alongside the sidewalk.
• Any trash left behind at the conclusion of the intake process must be collected and discarded in the dumpster.

Dinner & Evening Shifts 

Dinner shift: 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Evening shift: 8:00pm – 10:00pm

• Volunteers must arrive at the host church no later than 6pm or 8pm dependent upon shift(s) scheduled.
• Volunteers offer assistance with preparing, serving, and cleaning up after dinner. Typically, our host churches will prepare and serve dinner for our guests, but there will be emergency nights when our dinner volunteers will be responsible for preparing/serving a meal.
• We ask that the dinner volunteer be attentive to the needs of our guests. If a guest asks for supplies, more to eat, more to drink, etc., you are there to assist them. We encourage our dinner volunteers to eat alongside our guests & speak to them with kindness and respect. It is important to introduce yourself with your first name, offer a handshake, ask their name, and do your best to remember it.
• You will be responsible for ensuring guests have what they need from 6pm-8pm or 8pm-10pm dependent upon shift(s) scheduled. A supply bin will be available for guests to take what they need, but we encourage you to proactively offer those supplies.
• Guests will be allowed smoke breaks in a designated area, and you will be responsible for supervising these smoke breaks. However, this should be done in a friendly manner. We do not want to act in an authoritative way toward our guests. We are their equals.
• You will also be responsible for checking bathrooms and ensuring nothing is left behind and any messes made are cleaned up.
• Dinner shift ends when evening shift volunteers arrive. Evening shift ends when overnight volunteers arrive.

Overnight Shifts

Shift 1: 10:00pm – 2:00am
Shift 2: 2:00am – 7:00am (could be later depending on when guests board bus for drop off)

• Overnight volunteers must arrive for their shift no later than 10pm or 2am dependent upon shift(s) scheduled.
• This shift consists of simply being available if a guest needs you (asking for blankets, water, socks, etc). By that time of night, most of our guests are already on their cots and ready to sleep.
• We have a “lights out” 10pm-6am rule that we try to stick with, so there should not be too much activity during this shift.
• Overnight tasks include:
  • checking restrooms to ensure nothing is left behind
  • cleaning up any messes that are made
  • tending to the needs of our guests.
• You may bring your phone, laptop, books, etc, we just ask that you do not block out noise with headphones because we need you to be alert.
• Shift 1 ends when shift 2 volunteers arrive. Shift 2 ends when guests board the bus for departure.

8 Simple Rules For Staying With Home Free Haven

1. Remain alcohol and drug free while staying with Home Free Haven.

2. RESPECT others while staying in a HFH host facility by acting in a kind and agreeable fashion. No fighting or violence of any kind.

3. Refrain from using profanity, name calling, hateful comments, or any kind of sexual or racial language toward other guests or volunteers.

4. Respect the right of others to their property by leaving it alone.

5. Respect the host organization by doing your part to keep facilities clean and orderly. Stay in the designated areas of the host organization. Respect the hours of The Help Center by not being on their property outside the hours of pickup (4pm-6pm).

6. Smoking will only take place outdoors in the area designated by the host organization. Smoke breaks will not be allowed between 10pm-6am.

7. No asking any volunteer for extra things such as money, cigarettes, rides, or other favors.

8. Lights out at 10pm. Kitchen closes at 10pm. Doors lock at 10pm. Everything re-opens at 6am the following morning.