Tom Cummings spent three years “couch surfing” and sleeping in the woods of Scranton, using any drug offered to him and doubting he would ever catch a break.
Today, the 48-year-old Scranton man’s greatest luxury is “simply being normal” — waking up in his own apartment, brushing his teeth and heading to work at Catholic Social Services.
In 2021, Cummings got a phone call that he was accepted into a housing program. But, the real turning point was the realization that the Catholic Social Services Mental Health Homeless Program offers a comprehensive springboard for success.
While many agencies provide a temporary meal or a bed during frigid temperatures, this program paired Cummings with case management who addressed his addiction and mental health needs simultaneously.
Supervisor of St. James Manor & St. Anthony’s Shelter Jessica Spangenberg prepares to welcome people to St. Anthony’s Shelter on a recent evening. (GERI GIBBONS/STAFF PHOTO)
Both types of services are needed, said Jessica Spangenberg, Catholic Social Services supervisor of programming; those that keep people off the street for a night and those that provide shelter for a season while preparing individuals for long-term success.
In addition to providing year-round shelter to 20 men and six women, St. Anthony’s Haven offers weekly case-management, including service plan development, job searches and referrals for permanent housing and other services.
Guests are usually allowed to stay only for thirty days at a time, Spangenberg said. But, if one gets a job and shows they are trying their best to obtain long-term housing, she will make an exception.
Spangenberg said it’s important for staff to communicate respectfully with their overnight guests, address issues, develop relationships and suggest services specific to the individual.
In addition, the shelter provides separate areas for men and women, showers, a simple meal and as much coffee as an individual can drink.
Spangenberg carefully attends to the details such as air fresheners and personal hygiene products. She also works with the Community Intervention Center which runs a day program for the homeless and displaced.
Cummings utilized the services and build relationships necessary for success, Spangenberg said.
Cummings never went off course. He believed he was getting one last chance to rebuild his life, he said.
“I’m never going back,” he said, referencing his time on the street.
Staff member Raymond Moore sets out bedding at the Code Blue site in Weston Field House in Scranton on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Volunteer and guest Abdullah Gia helps set up cots to turn the Weston Field House in Scranton into a Code Blue site on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. He is grateful for the kindness of staff members Raymond Moore and Caroline Merchant, and to have another option for shelter. Gia says he wants to continue to help out when he is in a better situation. “The one thing you get is hope,” Gia says. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Staff member Caroline Merchant talks to the Scranton Times-Tribune while she sits at the check-in table at Weston Field House in Scranton on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Staff members Raymond Moore and Caroline Merchant Weston Field House in Scranton on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Staff members and volunteers set up cots at Weston Field House in Scranton to turn the facility into a Code Blue site on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. Twenty-six cots for men and 11 cots for women are available. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Staff member Raymond Moore sets out bedding at the Code Blue site in Weston Field House in Scranton on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Providing resources, support, hope
Catholic Social Services also runs a Code Blue Shelter at Weston Field, a shelter previously staffed by Keystone Mission. After Keystone downsized their services in 2024 and could no longer run the shelter, Catholic Social Services stepped in to fill the gap.
Code Blue shelters offer homeless people a warm haven when temperatures fall below 20 degrees and during snowstorms.
St. Anthony’s Shelter serves as a shelter when Code Blue is declared. It does not require a guest to be a Lackawanna County resident or to pass a breathalyzer test.
At Weston Field, staff members Raymond Moore and Caroline Merchant focus mainly on keeping people warm since the shelter is only open during frigid weather. They also provide guests with information about available resources.
Moore offers pamphlets detailing programs and agencies that can help with counseling, career opportunities and housing. Merchant greets guests at the door and distributes those helpful resources.
The secret to successfully staffing the shelter is respect for their guests, they said.
So far this season, there has been only one problem with a guest who had to be removed by police, Moore said. Even that guest returned to the shelter following a conversation about their behavior.
Abdullah Gia, a guest who has been homeless “on and off” since the COVID pandemic, struggles to find steady work. He appreciates staff members and the opportunity for a safe place to sleep.
“I’m grateful to the city of Scranton, the county (and) Catholic Social Services for showing us love,” Gia said.
Steady need for homeless services
In Lackawanna County, homeless numbers rose from a total of 182 in 2024 to 221 in 2025, a “point-in-time” count conducted by the department of Housing and Urban Development in January shows.
Of the 182 homeless individual counted in 2025, 77 were staying at an emergency shelter. Similarly, 71 homeless individuals counted in 2024 were at an emergency shelter.
That data shows that the number of unsheltered homeless people grew from eight in 2021 to 60 in 2025.
Those numbers are a bit misleading, said Nathan Morgan, program director for the Scranton/Lackawanna County Continuum of Care.
He attributes better methods of counting unsheltered individuals, including utilizing information provided by day programs, as the difference.
Local figures mirror national homeless problem
Point-in-time information, collected nationally by the Housing and Urban Development, indicates homelessness is a national problem that is not going away.
Across the country, the number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night in 2024 was the highest ever recorded. A total of 771,480 people – or about 23 of every 10,000 people in the United States – experienced homelessness in an emergency shelter, safe haven, transitional housing program, or in unsheltered locations across the country, a HUD report details.
While federal reports point to a national crisis of rising costs and systemic gaps, the reality in Scranton is measured in individual lives like Cummings’s and Gia’s.
For Gia, the impact isn’t found in a spreadsheet, but in the simple act of setting up a cot and making coffee for others at 6 a.m. He sees the shelter not just as a government service, but as a community “showing love” during his hardest chapters.
And for Cummings, the success of these programs is found in the “luxury” of a routine workday and a door he can lock at night. His journey from the woods of Scranton to a career at Catholic Social Services serves as a living reminder of what happens when a community offers a springboard rather than just a safety net.
Volunteer and guest Abdullah Gia helps set up cots to turn the Weston Field House in Scranton into a Code Blue site on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. He is grateful for the kindness of staff members Raymond Moore and Caroline Merchant, and to have another option for shelter. Gia says he wants to continue to help out when he is in a better situation. “The one thing you get is hope,” Gia says. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Staff member Raymond Moore sets out bedding at the Code Blue site in Weston Field House in Scranton on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Staff member Caroline Merchant talks to the Scranton Times-Tribune while she sits at the check-in table at Weston Field House in Scranton on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Sheets and bedding in a closet at Weston Field House in Scranton on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Staff members and volunteers set up cots at Weston Field House in Scranton to turn the facility into a Code Blue site on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. Twenty-six cots for men and 11 cots for women are available. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Show Caption
1 of 5
Volunteer and guest Abdullah Gia helps set up cots to turn the Weston Field House in Scranton into a Code Blue site on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. He is grateful for the kindness of staff members Raymond Moore and Caroline Merchant, and to have another option for shelter. Gia says he wants to continue to help out when he is in a better situation. “The one thing you get is hope,” Gia says. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)