Seven
Days A Week, 365 Days A Year
The Shelter provides free, unconditional and unlimited lodging accommodations
to guests; between 120 and 150 each night of the year. The Shelter
also provides showers with use of towels, all necessary hygiene
items, clothing as available from the clothes closet, dinner and
breakfast, crisis intervention services, relaying telephone messages,
storage lockers, a post office box to receive mail, stationary and
postage and reserved bed sections.
The Shelter will continue to admit any person who requests our services
and agrees to follow our basic rules. No fees are charged.
The Shelter accepts all late-night referrals from local law-enforcement
officers. The Shelter has long been recognized by local law-enforcement
as a viable alternative to arresting people for very minor offenses.
This saves the officer valuable time, and saves substantial taxpayer
dollars by keeping the homeless out of jail - which is up to ten
times greater than the cost of lodging a person in our facility.
The Shelter currently offers ninety beds; sixty for males and thirty
for women and/or children. The Shelter averages 150% capacity, because
floor mats are utilized in the dining room for overflow, even in
the summer months.
Shelter Collaborations & Partnerships
Mel
Eby, the Executive Director of The Shelter, is unusual in that he
is an administrator and a direct provider of services. Approximately
70% of his time is expended on crisis intervention services and
counseling sessions. Mel has brought in several agencies in recent
years to help provide a myriad of services.
In
the spring of 2001, The Shelter formed a partnership with Good
News Outreach to relocate their long-running free lunch program
to The Shelter facility. The Board of Directors for The Shelter
gave the use of the kitchen and dining room to Good News volunteers
for serving their noon meals Monday through Friday. This program
is a huge success, and now serves up to 130 people each day.
Day
services like this have also brought a whole new set of volunteers
and supporters to the agency. It has doubled the number of churches
who are involved with helping the homeless people.
Long-standing
Partnerships with The Shelter include:
The
Center for Independent Living (CIL) has a Health Education Specialist
to counsel the mentally ill, as well as guests with epilepsy,
diabetes, or those diagnosed with HIV infection. The contract
with CIL also provides The Shelter with an on-site social worker,
and an on-going program to help clients aspire to, and eventually
gain independent living. The CIL has assisted disabled Shelter
guests in obtaining subsidized housing since the program's inception
in 1996.
The Department of Veterans Affairs now provides on-site social
services for guests who are military veterans. The homeless coordinator
for veterans has access to an array of extra services, particularly
medical care and housing assistance for qualified clients.
DISC
Village Transitional Unit (substance abuse) provides weekly case
management to Shelter clients, also on-site at the facility. The
case worker visits weekly to meet with guests and also makes appointments
for clients to meet at DISC Village Headquarters - just four blocks
from The Shelter. The counselor assists with alcohol and drug
problems, employment and housing.
Through
Shelter staff providing information and referral, The Shelter
connects the homeless with: GED - Literacy classes (at the Leon
County Library three blocks from The Shelter); Legal Services
of North Florida for civil matters; HIV related services from
Big Bend Cares; tuberculosis testing from the Leon County Health
Department; crisis stabilization services from the Apalachee Center
for Human Services; and free medical care from Neighborhood Health
Services.
An
agreement has been established where uninsured Shelter residents
will be accepted into the Apalachee Center Mental Health Crisis
and Detox Center with referrals.
Legal
Services and the Legal Aid Society visit regularly to consult
with residents on civil issues such as disability applications
for SSI benefits, etc.
The
Leon County Health Department performs tuberculosis and sexually
transmitted disease testing of residents periodically. They have
also provided this facility with ultraviolet lamps and installed
special ventilation for two rooms to combat the spread of infectious
diseases.
The
Shelter refers guests to appropriate housing whenever possible.
The agencies to which The Shelter regularly refers guests include
Catholic Charities (which administers a clearinghouse of housing
resources information), Tallahassee Housing Authority, and Serenity
Shores Maternity Home. Few realistic opportunities for transition
to a more permanent setting are available for the great majority
of The Shelter's guests in our community; as is true for low cost
housing options around the country.
The
Shelter provides guests with opportunities to earn a General Education
Diploma, learn functional living/job skills or simply learn to
read better. The Adult Community Education Department of the Leon
County School Board sends a teacher four days per week to conduct
eight hours of classroom instruction at the nearby Leon County
Library.
A
bi-weekly on-site legal clinic, sponsored by Legal Services of
North Florida, provides free legal assistance for guests.
|
