From Shelter to Stability
Single Adult Program
In the mid 80's, a few shelters were being closed and some low-rent hotels were being demolished in downtown Richmond, leaving a growing number of people homeless. Noticing this trend, some downtown congregations joined together in an attempt to help. After seeking guidance, they decided to start a program to provide shelter during the cold weather months. Each congregation agreed to open their doors and take in 30 people each night for one or two weeks, and to move cots between the participating congregations. This program came to be known as "Winter Cots".
The initial hope was that this would only have to be done for a year or two. But the number of homeless kept increasing and so CARITAS was established in 1986 to organize and administrate these efforts. Since that time, the need of the homeless and the interest of the people of faith has caused our program to expand from the initial 20 congregations to over 150 congregations throughout Richmond, Henrico, Chesterfield, Hanover and Goochland.
Most of these congregations host a CARITAS shelter site for one or two weeks per year. Other congregations help provide additional volunteers, food and other services. CARITAS congregations provide dinner, breakfast, a bag lunch and the opportunities for showers. Many also provide laundry opportunities, toiletry kits, haircuts, medical screenings and a variety of other services.
Consistent with our 5-year plan, in 2003 the Single Adult program became year-round, and added a Case Management component to better assist our clients in moving toward stability, with the long-term goal of independent living. We also transformed one site into an all-female site which operates 6 months each year to better assist women in moving from the street into more permanent housing.
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