Event: Open House Thursday, August 14, from 1:00-2:00 pm
Location: Interfaith Sanctuary at 1620 W. River Street Boise, Idaho

The Organization Assisting The Homeless Student (OATHS), has fully renovated the family room at the Interfaith Sanctuary Homeless Shelter. OATHS is a non-profit student organization founded by Ben Skinner in 2010 to help homeless students get what they need to enjoy, succeed, and stay in school. For more information about OATHS go to http://www.takeanoath.org.

Interfaith Sanctuary Housing Services is a collaboration of people of faith and people of conscience who have joined together to shelter and serve those experiencing homelessness. The Sanctuary provides overnight shelter for men, women, and children, and provides supportive services that promote greater self-sufficiency, improved well-being, and permanent housing acquisition. Read more about the Sanctuary at http://www.interfaithsanctuary.org.

OATHS’ volunteers painted the walls and floor, provided a flat screen television and DVD player, and furnished the room with books, games, art supplies, and DVD’s. OATHS also furnished the room and purchased a dining table and chairs, bookcases, and study tables from Idaho Correctional Industries (ICI). ICI is an offender-training program that teaches work and life skills and prepares offenders to be successful as they return to our communities. They produced, delivered, and set up the furniture at Interfaith.

The renovated room is filled with beautiful black and white photographs provided by the INSIDE OUT PROJECT, a global participatory art project that gives everyone the opportunity to share their portrait and make a statement for what they stand for. The project is a global platform for people to share their untold stories and transform messages of personal identity into works of public art. Check it out at http://www.insideoutproject.net.

The renovated room will serve a variety of functions at the Sanctuary. Families staying at the shelter can share a meal and watch a movie. Children will also have a place to read, do their homework, play games, and do art projects. The makeover was a perfect fit for OATHS’ mission which is to provide homeless students support for educational success.

The renovation will be on display and open to the public on Thursday August 14th, from 1:00-2:00 pm, at the Interfaith Sanctuary located at 1620 W River St. in Boise.