Elizabethtown Emergency Shelter

In 2014, members of the Elizabethtown Ministerium, Elizabethtown Area School District, churches, and community members began to discuss opening a shelter here in Elizabethtown. Recognizing the need of families to stay together and in the Elizabethtown Area while they are experiencing homelessness was an important consideration for establishing this shelter in December 2015. ECHOS partnered with churches, civic organizations, Elizabethtown College, and neighbors to establish the emergency winter shelter for men, women and children to meet this need. 

The role of the shelter is to provide basic shelter –a warm, safe place for those experiencing homelessness to get out of the cold and off the streets during the winter months. Case management and Enrichment Center services are also available to shelter guests. The Elizabethtown Emergency Shelter operates from the first Monday in December to the first Friday in April. 

There are several volunteer opportunities available within the Elizabethtown Emergency Shelter:

• Evening volunteers: These volunteers help from 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM. They are responsible for greeting and checking shelter guests in for the night. Other roles include security checks, escorting guests to the shelter, distributing linens, serving dinner and clean up. 
• Overnight volunteers: These volunteers help from 9:00 PM - 6:00 AM. This volunteer has a private volunteer room to sleep in for the whole shift, unless they are needed by staff to help with monitoring guests. Overnight volunteers may also need to admit police and EMT escorts and address emergencies if they arise. 
• Morning volunteers: These volunteers help from 6:00 AM - 9:00 AM (Monday-Friday) and 6:00 AM- 8:30 AM (Saturday-Sunday) . These volunteers help with waking guests up for the day, serving breakfast, checking guests out, and clean up.
• Shelter Cleaning volunteer: These volunteers help Monday 1:00 PM-3:00 PM and Wednesday 9:00 AM-11:00 AM by keeping our shelter clean. Roles include mopping, wiping down surfaces, cleaning bathrooms and sleeping areas. 
• Hot and Ready Meal volunteers: These volunteers provide the meals for shelter guests 6:00 PM-6:30 PM