Staying at HSHS 

The Harvard Square Homeless Shelter is an emergency shelter that serves 24 men and women each night during the coldest months of the winter. It is a dry shelter that provides an alcohol-free, drug-free, and smoking-free space for its guests. During the academic year, the official season of the HSHS runs from November 1st to mid-April. From June to August, however, the Summer Shelter Program, a subset of HSHS, provides several of the resources offered by HSHS during the regular season.
 
HSHS is located at 66 Winthrop Street, in the basement of the Lutheran Church. The shelter is open from 7:00 pm to 8:00 am (except on Saturdays, when it is open until 9 am). 

Guests have two options for staying at HSHS. They can lottery for a two-week bed by calling the shelter between 7:30 am and 8:00 am. The lottery is run at 8:05am and the selected lottery numbers are then posted on the shelter door during the day. A guest can also reserve a one-night bed. Guests with a two-week bed may not spend every night in the shelter; on nights that they do not come back to the shelter, their beds are lotteried as emergency one-night beds for individuals at the door who did not receive a two-week bed. This lottery is run between 9pm and 9:30pm each night. 
 

Mission of HSHS

The goal of the shelter is to improve the lives of those experiencing homelessness by offering various resources to ultimately facilitate the transition into housing and employment. Directors and volunteers strive to create an environment that is safe and respectful for all guests. This mission of the shelter is carried out by many different branches that each provide essential services.
 

Volunteering at HSHS

There are many different volunteering opportunities offered by HSHS for students interested in serving and working with individuals experiencing homelessness.
 

Weekly Shelter Shifts

Breakfast (6:30-8:30 am): Volunteers help to cook breakfast for guests and clean up the shelter.
 
Dinner (7:00-9:15 am): Volunteers help prepare and serve dinner to shelter guests, as well as preparing meals for individuals at the door who do not have a reserved bed. This is also a great time for volunteers to eat dinner and spend time with the guests.  
 
Evening (9:00-11:15 am): Volunteers help clean up after dinner, wash the dishes, and do other shelter maintenance roles.  
 
Overnight (11:00-8:30 am): Volunteers on the overnight shift have the most demanding but also one of the most fulfilling shifts. The shift is further divided into three shifts from 12-3am, 3-5am, and 5-8am so that volunteers can take turns sleeping during the night.
 
In addition to these weekly commitments, there are also opportunities for individuals to make more short-term commitments, either through substitute volunteering (where you don’t have a regular weekly shift but substitute when necessary) or break shifts (Thanksgiving break, Winter break, and Spring break). To get involved, you can email hshs.volunteer@gmail.com.
 

Resource Advocacy (7:30-10:30 pm)

The Resource Advocacy (RA) Program involves a group of 15-20 students who work in the shelter to provide case management to guests staying at the shelter. The goal of the program is for students to work personally and closely with guests to connect them to resources and services that they may need. The long-term purpose of the program to help guests transition to housing and employment stability. I will be focusing more on this role in “My Story of Service” as I reflect on my involvement as a resource advocate. Students interested in joining the resource advocacy team should reach out to the RA directors at redirector.hshs@gmail.com.
 

Street Outreach (7:45-10:00 pm)

The Street Outreach Team involves a group of about 30 students who are trained to provide emergency food and resources to individuals sleeping outside. Groups of volunteers prepare meals and packages of toiletries, blankets, socks, and other amenities and distribute the packages to people on the streets. Students interested in joining the street team can reach out to the directors at hshsstreetoutreach@gmail.com.
 
To learn more about HSHS and volunteer opportunities, you can visit https://hshshelter.org or http://pbha.org/programs/harvard-square-homeless-shelter/