An ELCA Reconciling in Christ Congregation Located in Northwest Washington, DC

Men’s Shelter

On any given day, about 12,000 people in the metro DC area are homeless. Each night, St. Paul’s Shelter, located St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, provides a safe place to stay, a hot meal, shower facilities, and support to five of these homeless men.

The residents of St. Paul’s Shelter are seeking to transition from homelessness to permanent housing. They work regularly with a case worker to set and meet goals. During their time in the shelter, residents work on finding employment, applying for benefits, coping with mental health or substance abuse issues, and/or becoming reunited with family.

Once a resident is ready to move into permanent housing, volunteers from the shelter help the resident by gathering donations of household supplies and providing the emotional support needed to take such a big leap.

Life at St. Paul’s Shelter

The five resident can return to the shleter at 6:30pm each night. Once in the shelter, they have the opportunity to relax until dinner time. Volunteers bring dinner and the residents sit down to eat around 7:30pm. After dinner, everyone does a chore such as sweeping the floors, cleaning the bathroom, or taking out the trash.

Once the chores are completed, the residents can take showers, watch TV, do laundry, or talk with the staff person on duty. The lights are turned out for the evening at 11pm.

In the morning, the lights go on at 6:00am and the residents have an hour to get ready for their day before leaving the shelter at 7:00am.

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