There are certain things about childhood that ought to be boringly predictable. A place to sleep. A bathroom when you need one. Somewhere to put your backpack after school, do your homework, and complain about what’s for dinner.
For families experiencing homelessness, even those ordinary routines can become enormous challenges.
I grew up knowing what it meant to go without things that other children took for granted. Poverty has a way of making the most ordinary parts of childhood complicated, and those experiences don’t simply disappear when you grow up. They change how you see the world, and especially how you see the families around you.
It’s part of why I wanted to learn more about Community CARES, a Cumberland County nonprofit doing work that many of us may not realize is happening right here in our own communities.
Community CARES recently opened a new emergency shelter for men and women in Carlisle, but there’s another part of its work that deserves attention from local parents: a family emergency shelter in Shippensburg where parents and children can find temporary housing and support while working toward a more stable future.
A shelter built with families in mind
The Community CARES Family Shelter is located at 206 E. Burd Street in Shippensburg.
The facility can accommodate up to eight families at a time, with each family having its own room, sink, and toilet. Shared facilities include showers and a kitchen, and the building also has a children’s playroom, a space for homework and meetings, and areas for clothing and essential supplies.
Those details matter.
When you’re a parent, having somewhere your child can play while you make a phone call, somewhere to prepare a meal, or somewhere to sit down and tackle homework isn’t a luxury. It’s part of the infrastructure of everyday family life.
And when a family loses stable housing, it’s often that infrastructure that disappears along with it.
Community CARES’ Family Emergency Shelter program serves families with minor children and provides more than a place to sleep. According to the organization, families can receive assistance with food, clothing, personal care items, laundry, transportation, replacement identification documents, and prescription copayments. Phones and computer workstations are also available.
The goal isn’t simply to get families through another night. It’s to help them move toward permanent housing.
Keeping children connected to their communities
One detail in Community CARES’ description of its family services especially caught my attention.
The organization says its goal is to help children and their families remain in the county where the children attend school, minimizing disruptions while parents work with case managers toward permanent housing.
Think about what that means for a child.
When everything else in your life is uncertain, school may be one of the few places where you still know exactly what to expect. Your teacher knows your name. Your friends are there. You know which hallway leads to the cafeteria and where you sit at lunch.
Keeping those connections intact can matter tremendously.
Community CARES works with other agencies to help families access food support, transportation, employment resources, budgeting assistance, and housing searches.
It is practical, sometimes unglamorous work, but the practical things are often what make the biggest difference.
More than one kind of help
Community CARES has served Cumberland County since 2004, beginning with a small network of churches providing overnight shelter during the winter.
Today, its work extends beyond emergency shelter.
The organization operates a resource center in Carlisle where people experiencing homelessness can access basic necessities, including showers, laundry, and food preparation facilities. Its Cumberland Street Reach program connects with people living without shelter, and Community CARES also serves as a Coordinated Entry access point for people seeking housing assistance.
Its family shelter in Shippensburg opened in 2021, providing a dedicated setting for parents and children.
The organization also describes homelessness-prevention assistance, including help with certain housing-related expenses, although the availability of specific financial assistance should be confirmed directly.
For families facing housing instability, it’s important to know that asking for help does not necessarily begin with arriving at a shelter. Community CARES can help people connect with the broader system of housing resources and referrals.
How local families can help
There’s another side to this story, and it’s one that fits particularly well with the community we’ve built through Macaroni KID.
Parents understand how quickly children go through necessities. We understand the importance of meals, clean clothes, school routines, and having a space that feels safe.
Community CARES identifies opportunities for volunteers to help with meals, children’s activities, building maintenance, donation organization, and other work that supports its shelters.
Its website also offers ways to make financial contributions, including recurring donations that support shelter and homelessness-prevention programs.
Before collecting supplies or organizing a donation drive, I recommend contacting Community CARES to ask what the family shelter currently needs. Needs change, and the most useful donation is the one that solves a problem the organization actually has.
You can learn more about volunteering or supporting Community CARES financially.
How to get help from Community CARES
If your family is experiencing homelessness or at risk of losing stable housing, Community CARES is one local place to start.
Community CARES Resource Center and Coordinated Entry Access Site
50 W. Penn Street, Carlisle, PA 17013
Phone: 717-249-1009
Coordinated Entry walk-in hours listed by the organization: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Cumberland Street Reach: 717-448-8850
Family Emergency Shelter: 206 E. Burd Street, Shippensburg, PA
For information about family shelter services, contact Community CARES before visiting to discuss your circumstances, eligibility, and current availability.
Learn more at morethanshelter.org.
A community that cares
It’s easy to think of homelessness as something that happens somewhere else, to people whose lives look nothing like our own.
But housing insecurity exists here in Cumberland County, and families with children are among those who need support.
I don’t think every child needs a remarkable childhood. I think every child deserves the chance to have an ordinary one, with somewhere safe to sleep, familiar people to count on, and enough stability to worry about the things children are supposed to worry about.
Community CARES is helping local families work toward exactly that.
And the rest of us have an opportunity to be part of that work.
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