FAQs

About FAQS

Frequently ask questions!

Carpenter’s Shelter provides shelter to families experiencing homelessness in the City of Alexandria at our Hoffman Center emergency shelter located at 930 N. Henry Street. We also provide shelter to single adults and families experiencing homelessness in the City of Alexandria at the Alexandria Community Shelter at 2355-B Mill Rd.
Our year-round emergency shelters do not have a prescribed length of stay for residents. Residents are assisted in finding permanent housing as quickly as possible. On average, single adults stay for about two months and families stay for about three months.

Typically, when individuals and families leave the shelter, they transition into permanent housing with help from our Rapid Re-Housing program. This includes assistance with start-up housing costs and ongoing support from Carpenter’s Shelter staff. Shelter residents may transition to apartments, public housing, private rooming situations, and permanent supportive housing units with the help of our Housing Locators.

Affordable housing is increasingly difficult to secure because of growing demand. A lack of affordable housing continues to be the number one cause of homelessness in the City of Alexandria.

There are myriad factors that can lead to homelessness including lack of affordable housing, racial inequities, unemployment, underemployment, generational poverty, domestic violence, history of incarceration, mental illness, substance use disorder, and health conditions. Generally, a series of events or conditions escalates to the point where an individual or family can no longer cover their housing expenses.
Carpenter’s Shelter’s FY2024 organizational budget is $5 million. Please visit our Financials page to view our most recent audited financial statement and IRS form 990.
Your time and resources are valuable. Get involved where you can have a direct and immediate impact on the lives of those experiencing homelessness.
  • Donate: Our generous donors make our work possible. Gifts from individuals are our largest source of funding and help ensure clean sheets, nutritious meals, life skills course, case management and a wide-range of other resources are available to help our clients break the cycle of homelessness.
  • Volunteer: Carpenter’s Shelter could not operate without our volunteers. With more than 1,200 volunteers donating more than 17,000 hours every year, volunteers make up eight full-time staff members. Please consider joining this dynamic community of volunteers who support our emergency shelters 365 days of the year from 7 a.m.-11 p.m.
  • Advocate: Communities change when people are concerned, informed and involved. Please consider spreading the word about Carpenter’s Shelter by sharing with your family, friends and community how Carpenter’s Shelter is proactively working to eradicate homelessness. Like us on Facebook, follow us on X (Twitter) and Instagram, and sign up for our e-newsletter to stay up-to-date on shelter happenings!

Monetary: Monetary donations are among the most valuable contributions you can make, enabling us to provide essential services and support to those experiencing homelessness. Please visit our donation page to learn more about financial giving.

In-Kind: In-kind donations are non-monetary gifts such as goods or services, and they are vital because they directly meet the immediate needs of our shelter residents. Click here and select the In-Kind tab to see a complete list of accepted items, or check out our Amazon Wishlist to send items directly to the shelter.

*Due to space constraints, we cannot accept used toys or clothing. Please consider contributing to our partners, Christ House and the Goodwill, both of which provide clothing to our clients.

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