'Far beyond beds:' Beaver County men's shelter to open on Monday

VANPORT TWP. – On Monday morning, Beaver County will have spent its last weekend without a dedicated men's emergency shelter.

Members of The Cornerstone of Beaver County (TCBC) will officially begin to welcome local men struggling to find assistance at the new emergency shelter 24 hours a day in Vanport Township on June 12. Earlier this week, county officials and volunteers gathered in the building to take a tour and celebrate the end of the two-year construction project.

"We've transformed this building to provide the help, the hope and the tools to transform lives," said Marie Timpano, TCBC executive director. "Our service will go far beyond beds. We're aiming to ensure that each guest can secure and sustain permanent housing; and that they have the opportunity to gain independence, reclaim their value and rebuild their life."

While local women and children will be able to continue utilizing the services of Beaver's Women's Center Of Beaver County, the new Vanport shelter will be the first facility available for adult men since the closure of the Beaver Falls Crossroads shelter in 2019. During this absence of shelter, volunteers at TCBC were forced to coordinate stays at out-of-county shelters and local hotels to ensure these men had a safe place to sleep.

What's inside the new men's emergency shelter?

Media portrayals of emergency shelters often show a bleak picture of these types of facilities, but these grim images aren't an accurate portrayal of the type of welcoming environment being offered by TCBC in Vanport.

At first glance, the emergency shelter looks similar to a college dorm. Throughout the building, there are community restrooms, private lockers, washing machines and a small gym in the building's basement. On the main floor, there is a larger open area for eating meals and a community lounge to socialize, with a large screen TV available for residents to share.

Another open area on the second floor is lined with approximately 20 beds, offering a safe place for those with nowhere else to sleep in a safe and comfortable environment. During the day, the room is well-lit with plenty of natural light coming through various windows. The building also prevents many of the typical night-time noises common to the area, with the walls blocking the sounds of traffic and even the passing trains behind the building.

Local officials commented on their initial misconceptions of homeless shelters, which had been influenced by media portrayals of the facilities. For Marlene Landrum, director of the Community Development Program of Beaver County, the image of an empty bleak warehouse holding hundreds of cots was changed as TCBC officials walked her through their plans and construction of the new facility.

"It slowly began to dawn on me that this is not going to be a warehouse-like operation at all, this is fantastic," Landrum said. "The Cornerstone recognizes the humanity and the dignity of the people that will be using this facility. They design programming, as well as a relevant facility, not the dank vision that was in my head, so that the program would provide help to men who needed it, as well as hope. That's the very important ingredient that some of these 'as seen on TV' shelters [lack]."

Beyond sheltering services, TCBC designed the shelter to handle the growing need for education and care among those struggling with housing. Several office spaces have been designed in the building to provide medical services, with doctors from Heritage Valley Health System visiting to help those struggling with illness or treatment needs to get vital support.

The shelter's design has also shown some post-pandemic innovations, taking into account the rapid spread of viruses such as COVID-19 among homeless communities. Throughout the facility, several "isolation rooms" have been installed for those in need of shelter while diagnosed with an infectious illness. By separating these people from others in the shelter, the community inside the building can remain safe and those in desperate need of assistance can get access to vital shelter services.

In addition to physical support, TCBC designed classroom environments and conference spaces throughout the building that will allow residents to learn life skills and get assistance to find jobs or affordable housing options.

"We're going to provide a number of things: shelter and basic sets of assistance, case management, permanent housing assistance, access to transportation, life skills, training, job skills, skills, training, health screenings and more," Timpano said. "Our vision of ending homelessness is one of dignity and compassion. It's not just giving you a roof, it's not that simple. This is a complex issue."

Increasing need for shelter services

As the shelter begins operations, local officials noted this facility will be a large help for those in the county facing homelessness.

While many communities around Beaver County do not see the typical signs of homeless populations in major cities, such as camps or people forced to sleep on public streets for warmth, members of TCBC have worked over the last two years to ensure dozens of homeless men could find shelter at night. While some small encampments exist, the images of homelessness in a more rural region are much different.

"In the city of Pittsburgh, you see signs like encampments and some of that, so some people will tell you we don't have a homeless problem in Beaver County," Timpano said. "I'm here to tell you that we do, it looks different. We're not seeing tons of folks on the streets, we're not seeing encampments, although we do have some of that. But we do have a ton of people doubled up in the county, who are not only precariously housed, but some of the people that they're staying with are as well."

According to several officials from TCBC, a large demographic facing sudden homelessness in Beaver County are elderly individuals. As the cost of living and bills increase in the region, the number of elderly people left in the status of homeless is also continuing to rise. Many people throughout the county attempt to "double-up," living with relatives or friends, but this can create additional challenges for those already struggling to pay bills each month.

For those suffering from financial crises like these, the emergency shelter can help serve as a beacon for those seeking help. While battling stigmas around homelessness continues to be a large battle, local volunteers and officials in Beaver County are grateful that the Vanport community will serve as a safe haven for those in need for the future.

"I'm grateful that they looked past the 'NIMBY,' not in my backyard, mentality and agreed to have the shelter here, welcoming it to the neighborhood," Landrum said. "That's a crucial step, this facility would not be what it is were it not for them."

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Beaver County men's shelter to open on Monday