Programs and Services

Building a Community Where Everyone Has a Place to Call Home

Through shelter and housing, advocacy and supportive services, our mission is to prevent and end homelessness in our community. Shelter House offers a robust continuum of programs and supports focusing on emergency, stabilization, and long-term interventions in the areas of housing, employment, and mental health recovery. In so doing, we help hundreds of adults, children, and families each year to get back on their feet. Click through the menu tabs below for more information, or contact us here.

Emergency Shelter

Our overnight emergency facility operates a 70-bed shelter open to adults, children, and families experiencing homelessness. Adult rooms are dormitory style with twin size beds. Six family rooms with personal bathrooms are available. Due to space limitations, some families may be asked to share rooms.

Shelter House provides cold breakfast and dinner meals to all residents during their stay. Packed lunches are available for employed residents by request.

If you are seeking emergency shelter, call (319) 351-0326 or come to 429 Southgate in person to access the Coordinated Entry system. Staff will assess your options and let you know what is available.

Rapid Rehousing

We connect individuals and families experiencing homelessness to a variety of resources that can make temporary, transitional, or permanent housing a reality. During their stay at shelter, all residents meet with case managers who provide direction to appropriate resources and assist them with the necessary steps needed to secure housing. After clients have moved into their homes, they have access to case management services for an additional 6 months.

Rapid Re-housing is a solution to homelessness designed to help individuals and families quickly exit homelessness and return to permanent housing. It is offered without preconditions (such as employment, income, absence of a criminal record, or sobriety), and the resources and services provided are typically tailored to the unique needs of the household.

Financial assistance may be available to eligible clients to assist with deposits and rent. Individuals in the Rapid Re-Housing program work with a housing case manager to secure, maintain, or increase their income and access mainstream resources with a goal of housing stability after the program ends. For more information or to apply, contact Charles Malek, Rapid Rehousing Program Manager at charles.malek@shelterhouseiowa.org.

Permanent Supportive Housing

Permanent supportive housing is an intervention that combines permanent, affordable housing (tenants have the legal right to remain in the unit as long as they wish, as defined by the terms of a renewable lease agreement and pay no more than 30% of income for housing) with voluntary support services designed to help tenants stay housed and address health issues while building the necessary skills to live as independently as possible. PSH is an evidence-based housing intervention that significantly reduces returns to jail and homelessness, reliance on emergency health services, and improves overall quality of life.

Apply for permanent supportive housing here: Permanent Supportive Housing Application

Fairweather Lodge

The Lodge program is a permanent supportive housing intervention intended to support the mental health and employment needs of individuals with severe mental illness who are at increased risk of homelessness. The cost of living, including rent and utilities, at the Lodge, is configured on a case-by-case basis which is determined during a consultation with staff. The Lodge program combines:

• Permanent supportive, affordable housing
• Supported employment in a janitorial business
• Peer support and accountability
• Mental health recovery
• Daily medication support
• Access to psychiatric care and counseling support

To be eligible to participate in the Fairweather Lodge program, applicants must:

• meet State of Iowa requirements for serious and persistent mental illness such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, or major depressive disorder;
• be committed to taking medication as prescribed by a mental health provider;
• be alcohol and drug-free once you’ve been accepted; and
• be physically able to work in a Shelter House business on a part-time basis.

Admissions

Fill out our application for inquiries. You may download the program application here and return to Elizabeth Baumhover, elizabeth.baumhover@shelterhouseiowa.org or call (319) 259-7360, or fax your application to (319) 351-4907.

To join The Lodge, applicants next steps are:

• Interview with the Fairweather Lodge Coordinator.
• Meet with Fairweather Lodge staff and psychiatrist.
• The admissions team will follow up with applicants and notify them of acceptance into the program.