Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering Opens as Homeless Encampment Closure Looms (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)

Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering opened this weekend, offering a place for those in need to “have a healthy, hearty meal and get a restful night’s sleep,” according to Executive Director Bob Rapp. The seasonal overnight shelter at 75 E. Market St., with its entrance at the rear of Christ Church United Church of Christ, will be open seven days a week through April 30.

Officials say those seeking assistance are likely to include people part of an encampment along the Lehigh River. Property owner and railroad giant Norfolk Southern has requested the encampment be broken up by Dec. 15.

Managers and monitors for the shelter operation gathered on Wednesday afternoon for training on the intake and reporting system used to record guest information, including medications, job status, and emergency contacts. Staff last week also received instruction on proper CPR and AED use, and participated in anti-bias training to prepare for the shelter’s opening.

“It teaches us to examine our own biases,” Rapp said. “It gets to the root of people’s trauma and issues and how it affects the rest of their lives.”

The shelter operates on a first-come, first-served basis with a hard-and-fast limit of 70 beds. The operation averaged 65 people a night last season, according to Rapp. Guests 18 or older with a proper voucher from the Bethlehem Police Department will be given a blanket, two sheets, pillow, and pillowcase, and assigned a bed upon arrival. They are allowed to bring two bags of any size for personal belongings and receive a personal storage bin for their bunk area.

The shelter includes a multi-purpose room that can be used for drug- and alcohol-abuse counseling, physical therapy, or spiritual meetings for religious organizations. A nurse with Valley Health Partners Street Medicine will be present on Tuesdays and Thursdays to assist with some health care needs.

Local volunteers, some from faith-based, sports, and corporate groups, provide home-cooked meals such as roasted chicken with potatoes and corn, and meatloaf with mashed potatoes and coleslaw, seven nights a week. This season, volunteers are paying close attention to portion control and salt intake.

“There’s a difference between overfeeding them at each individual meal and not getting enough food,” Rapp said. “It’s hard on your body and your metabolism when you’re trying to do your whole day’s work.”

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