WILKES-BARRE — The city now has another overnight shelter available to men experiencing homelessness.
Mother Teresa’s Haven held a dedication ceremony Thursday in celebration of the shelter’s new, permanent home on the second floor of 39 E. Jackson St., Wilkes-Barre.
The shelter, open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily, is in the same building as St. Vincent de Paul Kitchen, food pantry and clothing bank.
The space was previously occupied by the McKinney Clinic before it moved to its new location at 90 E. Union St. in August 2023.
According to Supervisor Harry Lyons, the shelter can house up to 20 men each night. Instead of cots, clients will have beds to sleep on, along with access to shower and laundry facilities.
Catholic Services CEO Joesph Mahoney thanked several people during the ceremony for making the dream of a permanent home a reality, including Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown, staff at the shelter, and the cilents themselves, for giving Catholic Services the opportunity to house them.
“They’re trusting us to provide shelter,” said Mahoney.
Giving men a safe, clean place to rest of the night was a top priority for Brown, who said his administration over the last few years has contributed about $309,000 to help those who are homeless.
“We don’t want people sleeping out on the streets. We don’t want them along the river, under bridges. We want them in a place that’s a safe environment,” he said.
For Bishop of Scranton Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, giving shelter to those who need it goes “right to the heart of the gospel message.”
“It’s a big deal to them, because this place means that they don’t have to spend the night out in the cold,” he said. “I just had the privilege of being downstairs to welcome everybody for lunch. And what a wonderful opportunity it is to have that in close proximity, our shelter and a kitchen, where people can be fed food when they need it. And here, they can stay outside of the elements when it’s very, very cold or very, very warm outside.”
Lyons, who has served as shelter supervisor for over ten years, said finally having a permanent home was “huge.”
During his remarks, he thanked everyone on behalf of his clients, saying he was grateul for the response from the community, which has been overwhelmingly positive.
“The way being homeless works, you shuffle around all day. You don’t know where you’re gonna be from one moment to the next. But they know, come 7 p.m., the men are gonna be able to come here, get a hot meal, get a hot shower, and have a place to sleep,” Lyons said.
Mother Teresa’s Haven first opened in the 1980s and for decades, operated as nomadic, rotating locations between several area churches.
For the last four years, the shelter was operating out of the basement of St. Mary’s Church of Immaculate Conception.
With the addition of Mother Teresa’s Haven, Wilkes-Barre will now have at least three permenant overnight shelters in the city.
Keystone Mission opened its shelter, which is open to both men and women, in the Wilkes-Barre Innovation Center for Homeless and Poverty last summer.
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