2024-25 Room in the Inn at Vine Street
Updated: August 21, 2024
About Room In The Inn
Room In The Inn began in 1986 when founding director Charles Strobel, a priest at the time, offered peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to those in need gathered near his East Nashville church.
Today, over 100 congregations representing many faith traditions engage in this ministry, providing overnight shelter and hospitality, inspired by God’s love.
The concept has become a model for programs in 36 other cities, from Calgary, Canada, to Charlotte, North Carolina.
Room in the Inn’s core values
Through the power of spirituality and the practice of love, we provide hospitality with a respect that offers hope in a community of non-violence.
Timeline for RITI guests at Vine Street
5:45 PM
Guests are picked up from Room in the Inn and taken to Vine Street
6:15 PM
Guests are welcomed by team captain in Fellowship Hall
Guests choose their cot and settle in
The RITI Store is open for guests to select useful items
Guests sign up for showers or for laundry
6:30 PM
Dinner is served
Hosts and guests eat together, talk, play board games
Showers and guest laundry are available
8:00 PM
Lights are dimmed
8:30 PM
Lights out
5:15 AM
Lights on and wake up
5:30 AM
Breakfast is served
Guests collect blankets that return on the van to RITI
Guests collect bedding items (sheets, pillow cases, pillows) that stay at Vine Street
6:00 AM
Guests are picked up and return to the RITI campus
Click to View Cot Set Up Instructions
Room Set-up and Teardown
The cots are assembled at the beginning of the season, and not taken apart until the end of the season.
Week to week, they are stored in the storage room adjacent to the fellowship hall, together with other RITI items.
Each sleeping space consists of a cot, mattress cover, chair, pillow, pillow case, and two sheets.
Arrange the sleeping spaces next to the columns along the long sides of the fellowship hall. Exclude the area next to the entrance to allow guests to leave and re-enter without disturbing sleepers. Set up two sleeping spaces for overnight hosts in the “stage” area (floor painted gray).
Four round tables with six chairs (for the meals) should be set up near the kitchen. Two rectangular plastic tables for food and drinks are placed between the former stage (floor is painted gray) and the four dining tables. Two or more rectangular plastic tables are on the opposite end for the RITI Store and for laundry. All tables are likely already arranged as volunteers arrive to finish room set-up.
A few chairs can be added to the TV nook to accommodate more guests.
Cots need to be returned to the storage room along with mattress pads on Friday morning. Sometimes this is done by the overnight hosts to flip the room early, e.g. for wedding reception set-up.
Pillows, clean sheets and pillow cases are stored in labeled bins in the storage room.
Dinner
This is a role for one or more volunteers.
Prepare and serve a meal for 12 guests and several volunteers
Prepare whatever is comfortable for you; consider creating a vegetarian option by serving meat on the side (turkey, beef, or chicken products; some of our guests do not eat pork).
Arrive as needed to have food and beverages ready to serve by 6:30 PM
Dishes, glassware, and silverware are available in the kitchen, as well as paper products and single use eating utensils
If you are able, join the guests for the meal, then facilitate clean up so that the kitchen and tables are ready for the next use. Ask Evening Hosts for help as needed.
Two residential dish washers are available in the kitchen.
If there is leftover food, please take it home. The church cannot keep and reuse leftovers, except things like cold drinks and, of course, ice cream.
Breakfast
This is a role for one or more volunteers.
The food will be served very early Friday morning. Please have the meal and any instructions needed to the church on Thursday evening and placed in the fridge as needed or some other obvious place in the kitchen. Meals can be cereal and milk, with some fruit and juice, or pancakes and turkey sausage. Please try to have some portion of the breakfast be hot (eggs, turkey sausage, breakfast sandwiches, breakfast burritos etc). If the meal needs to be warmed in any way, please make sure it only needs to be warmed in an oven or microwave and does not involve any other preparation. If dishes need to be returned, please leave a note and overnight hosts will leave the dishes with your name on the kitchen counter.
Lunch
We provide each guest with a gift card for McDonald’s. That way guests get to choose what they want to eat, and they have an opportunity to warm up in a heated space.
Team Captain
This is a role for one volunteer, typically one of the evening hosts; 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
When the van arrives, welcome the guests and share the information below. It may be helpful to ask folks to gather around for a moment. A laminated sheet with this information is available for easy reference. This laminated sheet also has the Emergency and Contact Information on the back.
Dinner will be at ___________ (check with the chefs)
Lights are dimmed at 8:00 pm. Lights out at 8:30 pm.
Smoking is allowed outside the door to Fellowship Hall. The door will remain unlocked until morning.
Wake up is 5:15 am and breakfast will be ready between 5:15 and 5:30 am.
Point out the two bathrooms.
We have one shower available for guest use. Sign up at what we call the RITI Store. Body wash, shampoo, and conditioner are in the shower. Get towels and wash cloths from the RITI Store. Leave wet towels in the laundry basket in the bathroom.
Guests can sign up to have their laundry done. Use mesh bags to help separate loads. Only hosts are permitted to operate the washer and dryer.
We do not have a clothes closet, but may have some clothing items for guests to choose from in the RITI Store.
The wifi password is “welcome!” (no caps).
Let the guests know where to find the power strip for charging their phones.
Guests need to stay in the Fellowship Hall area.
Lead a blessing before the meal (or ask if one of the guest wants to offer a prayer) and share the menu as well as any serving instructions.
When the Overnight Hosts arrive, remind them:
guests need to stay in the Fellowship Hall area throughout the night, except to step outside to smoke
location of the lunch gift cards
directions for breakfast
special requests or needs from the guests
Wifi password (welcome!)
Evening Host
This is a role for two or more volunteers; 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Make sure the fellowship hall door is unlocked. The door stays unlocked all night and locks automatically in the morning after the guests have left.
Make sure the 12 sleeping spaces are ready for our guests. They each need a chair, cot, mattress cover, pillow, pillowcase, and two sheets. The blankets will come on the van from Room in the Inn; extra blankets should be available in the RITI store.
Make sure the bathrooms are ready. Please check and stock toilet paper, soap, and paper towels. These extra items can be found in the janitor closet across from the washer and drier in the kitchen. Flush each toilet to make sure it is in working order. If not, put a sign on the door and let Katie (katie@vinestreet.org) know.
You may be asked to assist with serving dinner and drinks
When the van arrives, the team captain welcomes the guests and explains details like lights out, smoking area, wake-up time, showers etc.
We have one shower available for guest use. Guests may sign up for a 15-minute shower slot between 7 and 10 PM or first thing in the morning. Towels are available in the RITI Store, and wet towels may be left in a laundry basket in the bathroom.
We have one washing machine and dryer. Mesh bags or baskets are available to separate guests’ clothes. Run the machine on cold or cool in order to refresh the hot water supply for showers. Only Vine Street volunteers are permitted to operate the washer and dryer.
We do not have a clothes closet, but may have some clothing items for guests to choose from in the RITI Store.
The wifi password is welcome! (no caps).
Let the guests know where to find the power strip for charging their phones.
Determine with the team captain who leads a blessing before supper, and who will share the menu as well as any other dinner instructions. Eat with the guests.
OTC pain medication is available in the medicine cabinet in the kitchen
Help clear the dishes from the fellowship hall after dinner, wipe down the tables and facilitate any evening entertainment or provide conversation as our guests may desire.
Begin to dim the lights as people start making their way to bed. Use your discretion regarding timing. The dimmer switch for all overhead lights is on the column by the fellowship hall entrance. The Brass Band may be rehearsing in the sanctuary. Turn off lights at 8:30 PM.
Share any important information with the overnight hosts as they arrive at 8 PM, e.g.
guests need to stay in the fellowship hall area throughout the night
doors stay unlocked all night, guests are allowed to smoke outside
location of the lunch gift cards
directions for breakfast
special requests or needs from the guests
Guest Laundry Specialist
This is a role for one volunteer; 6:00 PM until done.
Often one of the evening hosts takes on this role. Sometimes an overnight host might be willing to complete the job.
Guests put their laundry in numbered mesh bags. Ideally, there’s a match between sign-up sheet and the bag, i.e., Jamie signed up for the first load, and Jamie’s clothes are in the #1 bag. This helps with keeping track of whose clothes are done.
Typically, each bag is a separate load, so just empty it into the washing machine. If there’s a bag with only very few, small items, e.g. a pair of socks and a t-shirt, the whole bag can be added to a load. Fuller bags should not be added, since the clothes wont wash well, and the heavy bag will knock the machine around.
Detergent tabs are on top of the dryer.
Run the machine on tap cold, Eco cycle (we try to leave as much hot water as possible for the shower).
When the cycle is complete, move the clothes to the dyer. Dryer sheets are on top of the dryer. Make sure the lint screen is clean. 40 minutes on medium works well for typical loads. Check and clean the lint screen before each load.
When the clothes are dry, fold them, and return them to the guest or to one of the tables in the fellowship hall.
Overnight Host
Light Switch to Turn Off Lights
This is a role for two volunteers, at least one needs to be male; 8:00 PM - 6:30 AM
Arrive in time to receive any directions from the evening hosts. You can expect that most guests will be in bed/asleep when you arrive.
Be present to answer questions, handle any concerns, and make sure the church environment is comfortable for our guests. You are welcome to sleep, or stay awake the entire night, or take turns sleeping and waking. Your first priority is to be a warm presence in an unfamiliar place to our guests.
Arrange your sleeping space between the bathroom and the swing door to the kitchen (former stage; the floor is painted gray).
Guests may enter and leave the building as needed throughout the night to access the smoking area directly outside the door. The door will not be locked; it locks automatically after the guests have left.
In the morning, prepare (as needed) and serve the breakfast that has been dropped off and make coffee before guests wake by 5:15 AM. Consider dimming the light when you turn it on.
Provide the guests their lunch gift cards personally to make sure everyone gets one.
Help guests to be ready to leave at 6 AM with linens in one pile and the blankets they brought all gathered into one or two large bags. Make sure the blankets get loaded onto the van.
When the guests are gone, gather all the pillowcases, sheets and other linens and place them on the table closest to the door. Check the shower for wet towels and washcloths. The laundry volunteers will come later in the day to pick up the dirty laundry.
Make sure the kitchen is ready for next use and all the dishes have been washed. Turn off the lights; the fellowship hall door locks automatically.
Store Keeper
This is a role for one or more volunteers.
We keep a supply of various items for our guest. They are stored transparent bins in the closet adjacent to the fellowship hall. Typical items include: Nail clippers, toothbrushes, toothpaste, cough drops, chapsticks, deodorant, hand sanitizer, antacids, shoelaces, socks, underwear, etc.
Before guests arrive, set up two store tables near the storage room with items for guests—at least 12 of each item available to start. Please take a quick count of how many items we have so we can keep track of what guests find most useful.
Coats, underwear, warm hats, gloves, and other items can be added at any time, based on perceived needs as well as feedback from guests.
Let staff know when supplies are running low or when guests have suggestions for additional items.
The RITI Store also supplies clean towels, extra blankets, sweat pants and sweat shirts. Guests may either keep those or return them to be washed and reused.
Bedding Laundry
Laundry will be set aside by the overnight hosts on the table closest to the fellowship hall exterior doors. This will include pillowcases, sheets and possibly a few towels. Please arrive and pick up the laundry at your convenience on Friday and return it to the church by Monday.
Helpful Details from Room in the Inn
The heart of Room In The Inn is the local volunteers who open their doors and welcome in strangers as honored guests week after week. The volunteers give Room In The Inn its power and meaning. No matter how many congregations participate and how large the program grows, the intimate experience of eating together and sharing stories is the critical element. Each volunteer has a unique opportunity to offer the gift of hospitality.
Dress appropriately.
Maintain confidentiality. Do not share personal information such as your telephone number or address. Also, do not share personal information about guests with other people.
Be respectful of each guest and volunteer.
Refrain from accepting gifts and giving gifts to individual guests.
If you wish to do something additional for an individual guest, please speak to a Room In The Inn staff member.
Listen to each guest but do not expect to “fix” the situation.
Be honest and do not make promises that can’t be kept. Feel free to say “I don’t know” or “I can’t.”
Always use a calm voice.
Do not touch a guest without permission under any circumstance.
Complete the summary sheet from the previous night and return it to the downtown center the following morning. This form is critical in evaluating the ongoing program, in identifying problems and concerns, and for capturing data about Room In The Inn.
Use your instincts. If you are uncomfortable with a guest or a situation, let someone know.
Small Gifts of Hospitality
When planning meals, please remember many guests have chronic health conditions. It is a good idea to offer low-sodium and sugar-free options at dinner.
Serve your guests at the table. They have to wait in line for so many of their meals.
Serve only decaffeinated products in the evening.
Place a mint on each pillow.
Provide the daily paper.
Watch television for evening entertainment.
Have a “movie night” with popcorn and sodas.
Provide and mail holiday cards for the guests.
Eat with your guests instead of sitting with other volunteers.
Take time to listen to your guests, even if what they say doesn’t seem important. They need to be heard.
Play dominoes, checkers, or board games with your guests.
Have a sundae bar for the guests.
Place an inspirational card at each place setting at dinner.
Emergency and Contact Information
General Contact Info
Vine Street Coordinator for Room in the Inn
Thomas Kleinert
thomas@vinestreet.org
phone/txt 615.714.9718
Transportation Questions
Van transportation is provided by Westminster Presbyterian Church volunteers.
Any transportation issues are addressed by Thomas Kleinert.
Room In The Inn
24-hour phone 615.251.7064
Emergency
Please call 911 for any emergency and provide all information that you have.
Call Room in the Inn 615.251.9791 and inform them.
Turn all lights on so that emergency responders can find the location easily.
Have one person stand outside the door or in the parking lot to direct responders.
Contact Thomas Kleinert as soon as it is safe and possible to do so.
A First Aid kit for cuts and scrapes etc. is in the kitchen above the hand sink.
Church Address
Vine Street Christian Church
4101 Harding Pike
Nashville, TN 37205
In an emergency your own cell phone will very likely be the best point of contact.