Shelter Inc. was founded in 1985 to serve the homeless population of Monroe and surrounding counties by providing emergency and transitional shelter to homeless families and individuals, supportive services to help break the cycle of homelessness, education to the community about the nature and causes of homelessness, assistance to the community at large in its efforts to address the needs of the homeless, and advocacy of social reform to eliminate the causes of homelessness. Our five emergency facilities house up to 30 single adults and 12 families. Laundry facilities and meals are provided at our singles shelter. Our family shelters offer a home-like environment where guests are provided with the resources needed to maintain a household. At all shelters, the staff works to provide a safe and secure environment while assisting our guest in obtaining the resources necessary to move back into community life.
Guests work together to assist with house cleaning, meal preparation, and ground maintenance.
We work in cooperation with area social service agencies that identify and refer home-less persons to our program. Our strong linkage with these agencies assures that individualized needs, including those of specialized populations such as survivors of domestic violence, persons in recovery from alcohol and other drug addictions, and persons with chronic mental illness, are met and services are not duplicated. It is our belief that the provision of quality supportive services empowers and motivates our guests to begin to address the issues surrounding their homelessness and makes it possible for them to head toward self-sufficiency. We also offer educational and lifeskills programs which are geared to assisting our guests in becoming self-sufficient. Shelter Inc. has also embarked upon a Transitional Housing program, with the addition of an apartment community with assistance to help people make the transition from homelessness to permanent housing.