HARRISBURG, Pa. — A temporary men's overnight shelter will be open in Harrisburg Wednesday night as a severe winter storm arrives in Central Pennsylvania, Christian Churches United and Gospel Fellowship Church announced.
The shelter will open at 7 pm at the Gospel Fellowship Church, 1635 N. 7th St. in Harrisburg.
The shelter will join Downtown Daily Bread in providing winter emergency shelter for men, expanding capacity in the region to assure that no one who wants to come in out of the weather is turned away.
CCU also runs an emergency winter shelter for women in conjunction with Grace United Methodist church in downtown Harrisburg which opened on December 1.
The men’s shelter will be open from 7 pm – 7 am on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights this week until the storm passes and will have plans in place if needed to provide day shelter as well, the organizations said.
Full COVID precautions will be taken at the shelter including face masks, social distancing, and comprehensive sanitization practices. CCU and Gospel Fellowship hope to open the shelter on a regular nightly basis by the beginning of January, remaining open through the end of March.
The shelter has been organized in collaboration with the Capital Area Coalition on Homelessness, Dauphin County Human Services, and the City of Harrisburg.
Funding to make the shelter possible has been provided through Dauphin County Human Services and supporters of CCU, including the proceeds of the Joy To The Burg 2020 Christmas CD (www.joytotheburg.org).
For more information or ways you can help, contact Angela Parker-Quarles at aparker@ccuhbg.org or Aisha Mobley at amobley@ccuhbg.org.
