Once our clients have moved out of the shelter, they can participate in our Community Case Management (CCM) program which is a one year program that allows our clients to reduce their risk of falling back into homeless through the support of a case manager as well as educational classes and connection to services. One of the opportunities that we have onsite is the opportunity for our clients to “shop” our pantry. Last year we had 67 clients visit our pantry 200 times. We never want our clients to be forced to decide between paying their rent, and putting food on their table. This gives clients, who may be struggling financially, the ability to fill their cabinets with non-perishable goods such as canned vegetables, pasta, tuna fish and other necessary items.
The Carpenter’s Shelter accepts in-kind donations to help meet a variety of needs of our clients such as personal hygiene items like deodorant and toothpaste, over the counter medication, twin size sheets and non-perishable food donations. With Thanksgiving around the corner, we receive a majority of our food donations in the month of November and December. Because of the generosity of the community, the food we receive during this time can keep our pantry stocked throughout the year! Because of this, we will only be accepting donations for our food pantry in the months of November and December. There are some food items that we will accept year around, as we use those to provide breakfast to our residents five days a week or give our children snack when they return from school. The items we’ll be accepting year around are:
- Coffee and Tea
- 100% Fruit Juice Boxes
- Cereal and Granola Bars
If you have any questions about these changes, please feel free to contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Liz Salter (lizsalter@carpentersshelter.org).