New Men's Emergency Shelter Planned For Year 2000

Public-private partnership will fund improved facility
Homeless Times

The Coalition is very excited to announce County funding to build a new Men’s Emergency Shelter! The new, permanent facility will replace the three existing trailers that currently serve as the County’s emergency overnight shelter for homeless men.

Efforts to obtain an improved facility really began in 1997, when Don Torr, a citizen activist and Coalition volunteer, spoke to the County Council about the need for safer and more effective shelter alternatives. The existing trailers were clean and well-staffed, but had some shortcomings. Men slept on the floor with blankets. Men had to go out of the trailers to use toilets and showers in another building. Perhaps most significantly, the structure and crowding of the trailers did not allow privacy for clients to meet with counselors or case managers. This presented a barrier to resources that might help the men to become self-sufficient and find ways to get off the streets for good.

Last year, members of the County Council Health and Human Services Committee visited the facilities. The Coalition was awarded an emerency allocation to improve the existing trailers. County Executive Douglas Duncan announced additional funding at a press conference in 1998. Fortuitously, the news was seen by the Home Builders Care Foundation. Home Builders Care is an organization that represents area builders and is able to leverage money, goods and services from its members. Home Builders Care expressed a desire to help the Coalition go one step further and actually build a permanent structure that met the needs of homeless men.

The new Men’s Emergency Shelter will humanely house up to 100 homeless men each night. The facility will have beds, toilets and indoor plumbing, storage space and private areas in which clients can individually consult with staff. The project demonstrates the tremendous possibliities that exist when private citizens, corporations, non-profits and government work together.

A 501 (c) (3) Non-Profit Community Outreach Program affiliated with the Maryland National-Capital Building Industry Association.

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