On a cold winter night in Alexandria, a local pastor (with ten cots and two volunteers) opened his church doors. Today, Carpenter’s Shelter is a 60-bed emergency shelter that engages over 1,200 volunteers annually. At the Residential Shelter, families and individuals find a temporary home and the help they need to secure a permanent one: life-skills classes, job-readiness training, assistance with housing placement, as well as school, health, and medical services provided by community partners. A day shelter offers showers, phones, laundry facilities, a mailing address, and shelter and housing placement referrals to chronically homeless adults; a Winter Shelter provides a warm sleeping place in the colder months. Continued case management and educational opportunities are available for those living independently. For 800 homeless and formerly homeless people annually, Carpenter’s Shelter means hope for a better future.
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