BOISE - Closets and drawers full of clothes, a safe place to sleep, and a clean place for your children to play are all things we can sometimes take for granted.
A group of volunteers rolled up their sleeves on Sunday to make sure those staying at a Boise homeless shelter could have those luxuries.
The efforts were a part of what's called "Service Sundays" a concept created by Representative Mat Erpelding to encourage community members to give back to the community.
The work at Interfaith Sanctuary started in the outdoor play area for kids.
"It was a beach because we have this loose sand it just blows and covers everything," said Jodi Peterson, Co-Director of Interfaith Sanctuary. "We swept the beach out, hosed it off, cleaned every toy inside the bin for the kids and blew up all the balls."
A clean and safe place to play means a lot more than what you see on the surface.
"It makes them feel loved and cared for," said Peterson.
Keeping up with that outdoor space can be difficult, though.
"We want to be able to keep up on everything as a staff and it does reflect on their experience as a child and it also teaches them about taking care of their stuff." Peterson said.
Around the back of the shelter other volunteers spent the day organizing, sorting, and hanging donated clothes.
"We're getting out all the winter clothes making sure that it's readily accessible to people who come into the shelter," Erpelding said.
Peterson says as donations come in, they put them into the shed and sort them by size so they're able to quickly get what that person needs. Sometimes, they get behind so organization was a top priority.
Peterson also says clean clothes, along with a fresh meal and a safe place to sleep are the first steps in the right direction.
"The minute that you say 'I have to go to a homeless shelter' you have to overcome a lot," said Peterson. "They're receiving citations. A lot of those citations are based on the fact they're homeless, like open container trespassing things like that."
The steps after making the decision to get help, used to be a lot harder for them to overcome.
"You're scared, you've got those citations, there's probably a warrant so you're staying hidden, you're staying homeless," Peterson said. "You need to come to court, you need to check in with a judge, you need to pay a fine, you need to be here a certain day and time, and it's very difficult without money and transportation."
Now, because of "Monday Meetup", services like group therapy and recovery support groups are at the shelter once a week.
"They help with the citations,community service, health and welfare, connection with food stamps," Peterson said.
This way, transportation and money don't play a factor.
"We make sure that guest gets what they need to not fail," Peterson said.
Monday Meetup launched in May and so far, Peterson says they've seen a lot of success.
With those resources, those staying at the shelter are taking care of those citations and then entering employment services.