GREENFIELD — On cold nights, most people can’t wait to get home to a warm bed, but Hancock County resident Bob Benefiel can often be found staying out all night. A volunteer at the warming center, Benefiel frequently stays overnight for seven- or 13-hour shifts so those in need have a place to sleep.
During the coldest nights of the year, the center is open from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. at one of several Greenfield locations, including First Presbysterian Church or The Landing Place — as long as volunteers can be found to staff it.
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Benefiel said the temporary shelter provides a vital service, even if only one or two people use it each night it’s open.
“Homelessness in Hancock County is hard to put a number on, but it’s somewhere around 30 or 40 people,” Benefiel said. “In the warming center, we really don’t cater only to homeless people. People who have some hard times, maybe they can afford either to eat or to have a warm house or have gas in their car, and sometimes the warm house is maybe lower on their priority list. So we have a warm place for people to stay.”
The warming center, which is open whenever the nighttime temperature drops below 20 degrees, serves a variety of people. Some are passing through town and are experiencing car trouble. Some don’t have heating in their homes. Others are homeless and cannot get into Hancock Hope House, the county’s homeless shelter, because of a criminal record or other factors.
“It’s a need that Greenfield has,” Benefiel said. “The Hope House helps a lot, but there are some folks that just do not fit the requirements of the Hope House. We try to take as many of those folks as we can.”
Benefiel said if someone staying at the warming center wants to talk about their circumstances, he’s always willing to listen.
“Most people have a story that they’re willing to share with you,” Benefiel said.
It can be difficult to schedule enough volunteers to open the warming center as often as organizers would like, according to Jim Peters, who is the primary coordinator of the effort as well as a board member of the Hancock County Community Organizations Active in Disaster and the co-chair of the local Salvation Army.
To open the warming center, volunteers are needed to cover each of two shifts, and both a man and a woman need to be present at all times. It can be difficult to find people willing to stay awake overnight for the service, Peters said, but Benefiel is willing to go above and beyond.
“He has been a real blessing,” Peters said. “He’s the first to respond and willing to make whatever sacrifice to make sure we get open.”
That’s not unusual for Benefiel, who volunteers with a myriad of organizations in Hancock County in diverse roles. He is on the board of Greenfield Sertoma and works with COAD, the Salvation Army, Nameless Creek Youth Camp, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and Kenneth Butler Memorial Soup Kitchen, among other organizations.
“If there’s a community need and I’m physically able to do and I have the time to do it, I try to do it,” Benefiel said.
He’s also willing to take on almost any task.
“The one thing I don’t like to do, particularly, is ask people for money. I’m glad to give my own money, glad to sell things for money, glad to cut wood or paint or whatever else to make things or improve things, but I have a little bit of a problem asking people for money,” Benefiel said.
Benefiel said joining the service organization Sertoma in 1974 inspired much of his service work. He is now a member of the Greenfield chapter’s board and has served several terms as president. Working with Sertoma, he said, he met many other people doing community service work who needed help — and he wanted to keep giving back.
Jerry Bell is the director of Nameless Creek Youth Camp, where Benefiel serves as both a volunteer and a board member. He said Benefiel is a very active member of the organization.
“He just commits himself to doing whatever work needs to be done,” Bell said. “Bob is very, very friendly, he’s easy to get along with, and he has a very refreshing outlook.”
Scott Johnson, the program manager for the Department of Natural Resources in Hancock County, has gotten to know Benefiel through his work as a volunteer hunter education instructor. Benefiel helps beginners of all ages learn about firearms and hunting safety.
“He has helped hundreds, if not thousands, of students,” Johnson said. “He is great at what he does and he has a lot of knowledge to share.”
Johnson said Benefiel’s hunting knowledge makes him a great instructor, but so does his patience with students; he’ll always take the extra time to help a student who struggles.
“Everybody can relate to Bob,” Johnson said. “Bob is a very kind person. He’ll take the steps necessary to make sure you understand what he’s trying to explain to you.”
Benefiel, a native of the small town Elnora in southwestern Indiana, grew up in a family he described as lower middle class. He worked for Eli Lilly and Co. for many years after being hired as a lab technician while in college. The company helped him pay his tuition, which he said is the only reason he was able to finish school.
Benefiel said he does not spend a lot of time thinking about his motivations for doing so much volunteer work.
“It’s just something I do,” Benefiel said. “I like to help people out as much as I can. Maybe it was my background Maybe coming from a family that really didn’t have a lot, I understand that. And I’d like to try to make things better for people who are in similar situations.”
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The Salvation Army and Hancock County Community Organizations Active in Disaster, or COAD, are seeking volunteers to staff the warming centers. Those who are interested can call Jim Peters at 317-372-2304.
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In the spirit of the season, the Daily Reporter is publishing a four-part series of stories called "Angels Among Us." This is the final story in the series. The stories have profiled ordinary people who have accomplished extraordinary things in service to others.
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