The Rapid Response Team is our on-call network of volunteers who help when the Coalition needs hands-on support. Most often that means opening and running emergency shelter, such as cold-night shelters and emergency pop-ups hosted by churches, but the team also assists with events, supply drives, and other needs as they arise. There is no standing weekly schedule. We call on the team when a need comes up.

The Rapid Response Team is for on-call, episodic needs, mainly emergency shelter shifts but also events, supply drives, and other short-term needs. You’re called when there’s a need and serve for that event or task.

Volunteer Staff are unpaid individual members of the Coalition who serve on an ongoing basis, such as through hygiene or clothing ministries, under the direction of Coalition leadership. Volunteer Staff join through our Join the Coalition page. If you’d like an ongoing role as well as on-call service, you’re welcome to do both.

Set-up and tear-down, meal preparation and service, check-in assistance, overnight monitoring, drivers to provide transportation for our guests, event assistance, and supply drives and donation collection. Tell us which areas interest you when you sign up, and we’ll match you to needs as they come up.

Occasionally. Service is on-call and driven by weather, emergencies, and Coalition events and needs rather than a fixed schedule.

No. Individuals are welcome. The “Church or Organization” line on the sign-up information is only for those who have one.

No. Churches and organizations can be on our on-call list, whether by providing volunteers, space for an emergency shelter, or both, without becoming Coalition members. You’re also welcome to join as a Partner of the Coalition, and we’d be glad to have you, but one doesn’t depend on the other.

An Ambassador is one liaison from a church, business, or other organization willing to assist, who acts as the bridge between their organization and the Coalition. They announce needs to their congregation, staff, or members, organize supply drives, and coordinate group volunteer days.

By default, serving as an Ambassador makes you Volunteer Staff of the Coalition. If you’d rather your church or organization become a Partner of the Coalition, you can choose that instead. The choice is yours.

Volunteers who come through a church or organization with its own volunteer policies and screening may be onboarded under those policies. They still serve through the Coalition, and if they serve at a partner program’s site, that program’s site rules govern day-to-day conduct there. Individuals who aren’t coming through an organization complete the Coalition’s onboarding.

Fill out the form above, or email your contact information, areas of interest, and availability to PutnamHomelessCoalition@gmail.com with the subject “Rapid Response Volunteer Interest.” We’ll follow up to complete your onboarding.

Onboarding helps keep our guests, volunteers, and partners safe. It includes a written application (the form or your email), a brief intake conversation with Coalition leadership to confirm the role is a good fit, and an orientation. Direct-contact roles also require a background check. Every volunteer is given a point of contact for questions, scheduling, and concerns.

It depends on the role. Direct-contact roles, meaning regular or one-on-one interaction with guests such as overnight monitoring or transportation, require a criminal background check before you begin. If you’re volunteering as an individual, the Coalition will arrange it. General roles with no unsupervised guest contact, such as administrative support, donation sorting, or group-supervised activities, don’t require one unless the event or partner site does. If you’re coming through an organization that screens its own volunteers, that organization’s screening applies, and when you serve at a partner shelter or housing site we follow that program’s standard.

Yes, in general roles. Volunteers under 18 need a parent or guardian’s written consent and must be directly and continuously supervised by an adult volunteer or staff member. For the safety of everyone involved, minors are not placed in direct-contact roles such as overnight monitoring or transportation.

Yes. Every volunteer receives an orientation covering the Coalition’s mission and programs, professional boundaries, confidentiality, and who to contact with questions. Direct-contact volunteers also receive role-specific training, such as de-escalation, trauma-informed engagement, or safety procedures, provided by the Coalition or by the partner program where you serve.

Yes. Volunteers may not share a guest’s identity, circumstances, or personal information with anyone outside their volunteer duties, including on personal social media. The only exceptions are when the law requires it, such as reporting suspected abuse or neglect, or when the guest has given informed consent.

Volunteers on the Rapid Response list are the first to be notified by email, text, or call as soon as a need arises, such as a confirmed emergency shelter opening. We’ll share the details, including location and staffing needs.