The Kitchen, Inc. Emergency Shelter opened in November 2018 with 13 apartments and a 50-bed capacity. Thirteen apartments serve individuals, families, Veterans, and youth, while one apartment is reserved for respite care. Since opening, 119 people have been temporarily housed in the shelter.
Designed with Family in Mind
Unlike most congregate shelters, The Kitchen, Inc. Emergency Shelter provides each family with space of their own: a kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms, and a small living area. This allows families to focus on securing permanent housing without worrying about the safety of their children or the security of their possessions. In the COVID-19 pandemic, this model has allowed families to shelter in place, isolate, or quarantine when necessary.
The shelter has other amenities to decrease the trauma children and adults experience when they lose their home:
Forward Thinking
When a family enters the shelter, case managers work with them to find housing options and prepare them to move into permanent housing. After they are housed, case managers continue to work with the family to overcome the barriers that led to homelessness and reach long-term stability. The goals is to move the family into permanent housing within 90 days.
Community Support
Building the Emergency Shelter would not have been possible without the generous support of the community. The shelter was phase 1 of our Capital Campaign to fund The O’Reilly Family Campus: The Kitchen, Inc.’s new home. Phase 2 is the Sam F. and June S. Hamra Family Support Services building, that will house case managers, the housing team, our support nurse, administrative staff, and the Donation Center.
Want to contribute to the cause? Consider donating to the Capital Campaign.
