One of the Bay Area’s largest homeless services agencies continues to operate with new procedures to protect participants and staff.

SHELTER, Inc. continues to operate and serve participants in all of its housing, prevention, shelter, and supportive services programs during California’s COVID-19 “Shelter in Place” order. Public access is closed to our physical offices and consigned to phone calls only and all volunteer activities have been suspended indefinitely. Regular face-to-face services are now being provided through virtual meetings by phone or web conferencing technologies.

SHELTER, Inc. is a critical component of the human services safety net in the greater Bay Area. SHELTER, Inc. staff have been working from their homes since early March to keep participants, volunteers, and colleagues safe from COVID-19.

“We are often the first and the last line of defense for vulnerable members of our community,” said CEO John Eckstrom. “We are continuing to provide our breadth of services for the homeless and those at immediate risk of becoming homeless.”

SHELTER, Inc. is considered an essential service during this crisis. Our shelters in Contra Costa (Mountain View Family Shelter), Solano (SHELTER Solano), and Sacramento (River District Shelter) counties remain open and can be accessed via each county’s respective referral systems including 211.

SHELTER, Inc. began taking appropriate precautions before the first COVID19 cases were detected in the Bay Area and continues to monitor and follow the guidance of federal, state, and local health officials. In lieu of volunteering, SHELTER, Inc. asks for donations to support our critical services during this time of need by going to ShelterInc.org.