When the Elizabethtown Emergency Shelter opens on Monday, Dec. 5, it will provide housing and meals for people who are experiencing homelessness. It will operate through Friday, March 31, 2023, relying on the help of 70 volunteers each week. As the shelter gets ready to open for the season, volunteers are needed, and there are volunteer options for everyone.

"There are volunteer opportunities through the shelter for people who would like to work directly with clients as well as for those who would prefer to help while the clients are not present," said Natalie Dixon, development director for ECHOS, which operates the shelter. Client-facing opportunities include evening, overnight and morning shifts, with responsibilities ranging from greeting and checking guests in to serving meals. Other ways to volunteer include dropping off a hot dinner each evening, cleaning the shelter during the day and assisting with laundry services.

"Our volunteers come from a variety of backgrounds and have many reasons for why they are interested in volunteering in the Elizabethtown Emergency Shelter. In the same vein, our guests also come from a variety of backgrounds and have just as many reasons for why they need to utilize the shelter," Dixon stated. "We are looking for volunteers who are understanding and accepting of that. Our volunteers should be reliable, nonjudgmental and respectful of boundaries."

She emphasized that volunteering is not as intimidating as some people might think. "It is a short period of time, where you are working alongside other volunteers and staff members in a friendly and rewarding environment," she said, noting that volunteers can serve individually or as part of groups from churches, businesses or organizations.

The Elizabethtown Emergency Shelter provides a "hand up rather than a hand out," Dixon said, by offering support, equipping people with the necessary tools to be successful and enabling them to find stability in their lives. "By doing this, we are helping to ensure that their experience of homelessness is brief and non-recurring," she explained, adding that the shelter is open to people who have a connection to any of the following towns in the northwest region of Lancaster County: Elizabethtown, Bainbridge, Rheems, Marietta, Mount Joy and Maytown. "At the end of the 2021-2022 shelter season, 54% of our guests were discharged with positive housing outcomes," Dixon said. "This means that we have 45 fewer community members experiencing street-level homelessness in our county." She said shelter staff anticipate a busy upcoming year for the shelter, noting, "It is likely with the current economic and housing climate that this may be the first year that capacity is reached."

The shelter does not receive full funding from any government grants or foundation awards, so it relies on community and organization donations for support. Along with financial contributions, the shelter has a wish list of items that can be donated.

All volunteers are required to attend a training on Wednesday, Nov. 16, from 6 to 8 p.m. at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 398 N. Locust St., Elizabethtown. If a volunteer is not able to attend the in-person training, a virtual training will also be available.

For more information on volunteering, email volunteer@echoslancaster.org. To sign up to volunteer, visit https://echoslancaster.galaxydigital.com/user/dashboard.