Shelter and Supportive Housing

The Shelter

The Shelter first opened in November 1984 with the express purpose of providing a hot meal and a warm, safe place for the homeless to sleep during the winter. The opening of the shelter was a community response to the fact that two homeless people died on the streets of Reading in the winters of 1981 and 1982. Originally housed in church basements, the shelter provided a warm meal and safe place to sleep. Today, it is much more than "hot and a cot", and provides an array of services to assist homeless individuals and families once again become self-sufficient.

Shelter residents are expected to meet regularly with case managers and jointly develop a plan to address the causes of their homelessness and begin the journey back to self-sufficiency. Recognizing that becoming homeless is not something that typically occurs overnight, we do not have a set length of stay requirement for those who are working to put their lives back together. Typically, our most successful clients remain in the shelter between 30 and 120 days.

And it is working! In 2010, 93% of families and 79% of individuals who stay engaged in the shelter program successfully transitioned back into the community. If you or someone you know is in need of shelter and guidance to create a new life of independence, please call Opportunity House at (610) 374-4696 ext. 230.

Code Blue

As services expanded in the Shelter that provided structure and accountability to individuals and families residing there, a program was developed to ensure that the original mission of the Shelter would continue to be met. The Code Blue program began as a way to allow the chronically homeless to get off the street in the winter. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines chronically homeless as a disabled individual who has been continuously homeless for over one year.

This program takes place each year once temperatures begin to drop into the mid-30ï¿½s in the evening. It hearkens back to 1984 and the original mission of Opportunity House (then called The Reading Emergency Shelter). The men and women who enter the shelter through the Code Blue Program have a long history of mental illness and addiction, and are resistant to participating in traditional services. During the warmer months, they live in abandoned homes, vehicles or down along the Schuylkill River. However, once the weather begins to cool in the evenings, they seek a place to sleep to get in from the cold.

Historically, this program operated from November 1st ï¿½ March 31st. However, over the past several years, it has begun in mid-October and extends into the second week of April. In the winter of 2010, the Code Blue Program served 184 individuals of whom 131 (71%) were chronically homeless. The program averaged 21 individuals per night in October, 46 per night in November, 40 per night in December, 47 per night in January, 24 per night in February, and 19 per night in March. These numbers have continued to grow over the past several years (175 individuals were served during the winter of 2008-2009 and 169 during the winter of 2007-2008) and the percentage of those identified as being chronically homeless have grown as well (up 25% from two years prior).

Supportive Housing:

For those individuals and families who either are unable to live independently or who require additional support before returning to the community, Opportunity House offers an array of transitional and permanent housing programs. Depending upon their particular circumstances and needs, participants can reside in a group living residence or live independently in their own apartment or townhome.

In order to qualify for these housing programs individuals and families must have successfully completed the Shelter program at Opportunity House.

For more information on these or other housing programs at Opportunity House please call 610.374.4696 ext. 230