Uni-Lu Director Has Trouble Recruiting Volunteers for Holiday Season

Scott C. Seider '99 did not want to be interviewed.

Busy organizing students for the University-Lutheran (Uni-Lu) Homeless Shelter's holiday events, the Uni-Lu volunteer director says he would rather stay out of the limelight. But fate, and The Crimson, prevailed.

It just so happens that Seider is trying to get the word out that the shelter's in need of volunteers, because even at a College where one in four students participates in public service--and even more pass Uni-Lu on their treks to and from the MAC quad each day--Uni-Lu's supply runs dry as winter break approaches.

And the holidays are the worst time to have a shelter labor shortage.

As reluctant as he is to talk about his time at Uni-Lu, Seider is a well-spoken, and seasoned, speaker. Seated in his room in Eliot House, the two-year Uni-Lu veteran can easily toss off descriptions of nightly duties, along with instructions to volunteers. What advice would he give to a first-time volunteer?

"Basically, you have to be a good listener," says Seider, gesturing to the invisible volunteer recruit and inducing a sense of warmth that makes it easy to see why many of his own friends have offered to help at the shelter during term time.

Painting a picture of Uni-Lu duties in broad strokes, Seider describes the difference between the soup kitchens he's volunteered at--which just serve meals--and shelters like the student-run Uni-Lu, that offer the homeless a warm, safe haven from the streets of Cambridge.

"The holidays can be a really hard time to be homeless," says Seider, who also volunteered at Uni-Lu along with about 30 other students during winter break last year.

A native of Needham, Mass., Seider is no stranger to working with the homeless over the holidays. He describes volunteering at soup kitchens during Christmas as a "family tradition" that both he and sister Wendy Seider '00 carried with them to Harvard. Wendy, also a regular Uni-Lu volunteer, may not plan on returning to campus during break, but Seider--always the volunteer recruiter--says he will most likely be "dragging her along" with him.

Seider says his sister chose to get involved with Uni-Lu on her own, just as he did. Thanks to the enthusiasm of a prefect, Seider started volunteering at Uni-Lu soon after he arrived at Harvard. Despite his initial aversion to "being in charge of or comping anything," Seider's deepening interest in the shelter lead him to become more involved.

With little experience working with the homeless other than the annual holiday trip with his parents and sister to a local soup kitchen, Seider says he had to learn a lot during his nightly shifts--which span from 11 p.m. to morning and allow for "about four hours of sleep." But the time paid off.

During nights staffing with three other volunteers at Uni-Lu, preparing meals, playing checkers or just chatting with nightly guests, Seider says he has gained a "deeper understanding" of what homelessness means.

"It's pretty shocking," Seider says of the life many shelter guests are forced to lead. Staying at Uni-Lu for a week and then traveling among other shelters in and outside of the city, some guests do return to Uni-Lu, Seider says, often enough to "get to know a few characters."

"They all have different personalities. Some will ask you about a book you have, about what you're studying. Others have to get to bed and go to work in the morning," says Seider, noting that Uni-Lu is seen by many as a friendly shelter, one where guests are seen as more than just warm bodies. Although there are several shelters in Cambridge, and even more in Boston, Seider says most homeless are hard pressed to find space and care among them.

"It's very possible to find somebody a bed in Boston, but it's often not a very nice place," he says.

Seider describes Uni-Lu guests as a varied bunch, whose personalities often emerge in encounters or conversations with student shelter staffers. Although Seider says many staffers are committed to Uni-Lu, family commitments at home during the holidays often leave the shelter under-staffed. Ironically, just as student volunteers return to their own families for the holidays, many of the shelter guests they have become familiar with are mourning the loss, or lack, of their own.

Seider says depression can easily strike guests during the holiday season despite Uni-Lu efforts to foster a cozy environment.

"Oftentimes it's not having a family you can or want to return to," he says.

Seider urges students to take the initiative and volunteer at the shelter this holiday season. Whether distributing gifts to guests, (last year 80 gifts brightened the lives of about 23 guests) or cooking meals for those hungering to taste both good food and a festive atmosphere, everyone willing to help is welcome at Uni-Lu, says Seider. And, unlike that last term paper or exam you barely handed in, all work is appreciated.

"Guests really like Uni-Lu because it's student-run. It's a nice shelter, a dry shelter; really a safe place."

For more information about volunteering at Uni-Lu during break, please email Scott C. Seider '99 at seider@fas. harvard. edu.