After 35 years, Covenant House's food pantry, Drop-In Center remain its busiest programs - Charleston Gazette-Mail (subscription)

After 35 years, Covenant House's food pantry, Drop-In Center remain its busiest programs - Charleston Gazette-Mail (subscription)

In 1981, Covenant House opened its doors in a small building on Quarrier Street in downtown Charleston, giving Charleston’s homeless a place to do laundry, shower, make phone calls, pick up mail, get information on housing, health and employment programs and make use of a food pantry and clothing closet.

Since then, the non-profit organization has moved to a new, much larger building at 600 Shrewsbury St., and has expanded its services to include a Housing First program to place the homeless in affordable long-term rental housing in Kanawha and three neighboring counties; two group homes in Charleston for those with disabling physical or mental health issues, and a Residential and Resource program helping people in 11 counties find safe, affordable housing, prepare personal budgets, and receive emergency aid for utility payments and uncovered medical needs.

“So far this year, we have had contact with 40,000 people, 6,000 of whom are new to us,” said Ellen Allen, executive director of Covenant House.

“It’s hard to believe the number of people who come through here to get help from our 12-person staff. We’re not a place just for people sleeping in the street. We’re seeing more working people coming in. They are often people who have paid out most of their income for housing and come here two or three days before payday to visit our food pantry or get some temporary assistance with their housing payments.”

The Drop-In Center that was the main attraction during Covenant House’s early days on Quarrier Street remains one of the organization’s busiest operations, according to Allen. “It’s a little bigger, now,” she said. “We still do showers, laundry, clothing and mail service out of our day shelter at Shrewsbury Street and help people get access to things like health care. This year, we’ve enrolled 300 people in Medicaid and insurance offered through the Affordable Health Care Act.”

Covenant House’s food pantry, open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with additional hours of 1 to 3 p.m. available on Tuesdays and Thursdays, is located in First Presbyterian Church, where more than 20 volunteers organize tons of donated food into grocery store-style shelves from which people pick items of their own preference.

After receiving vouchers from Covenant House’s Drop-In Center, families and individuals in Kanawha County can shop twice a month at the pantry without having to worry about being judged by others. About 10,000 people use the food pantry each year.

“We’ve really expanded our programming toward ending homelessness and we’re proud of our work,” said Allen. “We believe in social justice, so we’ll be advocating to maintain the gains we’ve made and try to build on them.”

To help continue serving the homeless and low-income working people in Charleston and the Kanawha Valley, please consider making a donation to Gazette-Mail Charities. Donations made to Gazette-Mail Charities’ holiday fund drive go to programs like Covenant House.

To help, fill out the donation coupon in today’s newspaper and send it with your check, made payable to Gazette-Mail Charities. To give online, go to wvgazettemail.com and click on the Gazette-Mail Charities logo. Donations are tax-deductible. Gazette-Mail Charities is a 501 (c) (3) organization.