The Open Door Shelter, Inc.

Our mission is to effectively address the causes and complexities of the homeless and working poor by providing shelter, food, clothing, case management services, treatment services, transitional planning for short and long term goals, subsidized housing, education, employment, and a path towards independence and success.

We provide shelter nightly with over 95 beds in our facility located at 4 Merritt St. From this same facility we operate the Manna House kitchen and pantry. We serve meals three times a day (over 20,000 per month) and provide boxed and canned goods to the working poor to help them make ends meet. Between the kitchen and the pantry, we provide approximately 60,000 meals per month to individuals and families in our community.

We also operate a number of private residences, providing supportive housing to those who are working and earning an income, but unable to afford housing in the area.

In 2010, we launched Hope Works, a job training program intended to get at the root cause of homelessness: unemployment. This program combines job training, computer training, life skills coaching as well as job placement services to help residents get back to a life of independence and self-reliance.

The shelter operates primarily from private donations, with less than 40% of our operating budget coming from government funding. 90 cents of every dollar donated goes directly to providing food, shelter and assistance to those in need. Our board is comprised entirely of uncompensated volunteers.

Please consider a donation today, as the current state of the economy means more people than ever before are seeking our assistance, even as private sector donations dwindle.