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The Cooperative Downtown Ministries  
  
 
 
 
 

 
 

The Old Firehouse Shelter

Sponsored by

The Cooperative Downtown Ministries

The Old Firehouse Shelter offers the only homeless men's emergency shelter in the community that does not have a specific time limit on the length of the stay.  This means two things:  (1) the guests that The Old Firehouse Shelter serves are the more chronically homeless;  (2) The Old Firehouse Shelter is able to establish a deeper involvement with the guests.  This involvement leads to a trust level that permits it to work with each individual to get to the root(s) of his problem(s).  Despite the nature of its clients, The Old Firehouse Shelter still achieves remarkable success.  Recently, The Old Firehouse Shelter reviewed its intake rolls one day compared with the same day a year later.  It revealed a remarkable 100% turnover rate. This is accomplished by placing certain expectations on each individual guest.  Each guest is required to: (a) meet regularly with a case manager to determine why he is homeless.  Then, The Old Firehouse Shelter networks with area service providers, homeless and general, to bring all the available community resources to assist in ending his homelessness episode; (b) Follow the life plan that he established with the case manager.  The ultimate goal is for the person to live independently if possible; (c) The Old Firehouse Shelter works with each guest to assist them in accessing the community’s resources; (d) abide by the program’s rules and policies; and (e) make a nightly intake.  In 2004, The Old Firehouse Shelter provided a record 20,103 nights of emergency shelter. 

 

 
Old Fire House Shelter
 

The Old Firehouse Shelter’s mission is to empower each overnight guest, the guests must meet regularly with the case manager to determine their needs.    From those meetings a life plan is developed for each individual.  The meetings are designed to assist them in discovering why they became homeless and guide them in a direction that will allow them to be successful in overcoming their situation. Then, The Old Firehouse Shelter networks with area service providers, homeless and general, to bring all the available community resources to assist in ending his homelessness episode.  The staff cultivates the relationship with each person by providing encouragement, support, nurture, and motivation to help each one reach the goals set.  It is The Old Firehouse Shelter’s objective to help each overnight guest overcome the obstacles that made and keep him homeless.  It is The Old Firehouse Shelter’s goal for everyone to move out of the shelter and into a more suitable permanent housing situation.  While the shelter is open to anyone, we hope that developing a better support program will assist people in moving through "the system" quicker and more effectively.