HAGERSTOWN, Md. – Final preparations are underway for REACH of Washington County to reopen the cold weather shelter for its 23-week season, an endeavor supported by 1,200 volunteers.
The shelter, which serves the Hagerstown area from late October until early April, brings together volunteers of various faith backgrounds and socio-economic situations.
“It’s really an amazing model I inherited,” Executive Director Jeannie Asbury said, describing how different houses of faith typically select a week to serve meals and undertake other volunteer responsibilities.
Three weeks remain for sign-ups to fill the schedule of the 2024-25 season.
Thirty-four years ago, a truck with cots and bedding went from church to church in the area to set up temporary shelters for the winter months. The program grew, coalesced and chose a central location at 140 W. Franklin St. in 2006.
The cold weather shelter is open seven days a week to people ages 18 and older with no limit on the number of nights per person. It has 42 standard beds and flex space to add some when temperatures reach their coldest.
“We are a low-barrier shelter, meaning we’ll take everyone as long as you follow the rules,” Asbury said.
A hot evening meal is served at 7 p.m., with continental breakfast available the next morning. The shelter is closed during daytime hours except during severe weather.
Carol Bryan, of Williamsport, started preparing meals with other congregants of her church almost 25 years ago. Today, she coordinates not just one week but two weeks of volunteerism for Hagerstown Church of the Nazarene.
“They are just like you and me, except they have a different set of problems,” she said of the shelter guests.
Case managers from Washington County’s six shelters meet every two weeks to discuss the unhoused population. They have a coordinated entry program that involves gathering demographic information and assigning vulnerability scores. The case managers use this information when eyeing openings in supportive housing.
It is important to remember that individuals experiencing homelessness retain free will, Asbury said. They can choose where they go and whether they want to participate in placement services, she said.
“It can be very rewarding and very heartbreaking,” she said, saying people, particularly those with substance use disorder, will take steps toward independence and then falter.
Bryan, who has started volunteering with REACH in other capacities, agrees.
“You have the good memories and then the ones that hurt,” she said. “There are people who want to change their lives and don’t. But there are ones who go out, get an apartment and come back to talk.”
REACH of Washington County developed a case management program in 2010, a financial literacy program in 2015 and a “bridges to change” program in 2019 to pay participants to clean up trash throughout the city. The clean-up crews, in particular, are paired with staff who have experience with homelessness.
The 2023-24 season for the cold weather shelter had 219 individuals registered for beds, with 186 of them staying for 30 days or less. The ages ranged from 18 to 76. Asbury said it was a season with a higher-than-average percentage of senior citizens and disabled participants.
REACH of Washington County maintains a list of shelter needs. That list changes based on stock and currently includes sugar, coffee creamer, 45-gallon and 13-gallon trash bags, laundry detergent pods, napkins, paper towels, tissues, Ziploc-style storage bags, large food storage containers, rain ponchos, deodorant, hand/toe warmers, belts, lip balm, travel-sized toothpaste, hairbrushes and similar products, new or like-new pillows, and travel-sized shampoo and conditioner.
Volunteer responsibilities include meal preparation (either before arriving or in the commercial kitchen on site), laundry supervision (shelter guests do their own laundry), hospitality (conversations and check-in) and more.
Bryan said it is important for volunteers to listen to stories without offering judgment or troubleshooting.
“You are there mainly to listen to them,” she said.
The houses of faith registered for volunteerism include various Christian denominations, a mosque and a synagogue. Several businesses also have sign-ups for their staff members. They are paired with REACH of Washington County’s staff.
“We have a strong, dedicated team,” Asbury said. “Everyone pitches in.”
