{"id":37620,"date":"2025-11-18T14:50:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T14:50:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/37620\/"},"modified":"2025-11-18T14:50:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T14:50:07","slug":"encampment-closure-causes-bethlehem-emergency-sheltering-to-expect-full-capacity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/37620\/","title":{"rendered":"Encampment closure causes Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering to expect full capacity"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Dec. 15, all individuals living in the homeless encampment located by the Hill-to-Hill bridge will be moved in accordance with notices posted earlier in the year. <\/a>The notices were first posted on Sept. 10 and cited health and safety concerns as the reason for further action.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bethlehem\u2019s Emergency Sheltering has 70 beds to house homeless adults from Nov. 1 through April 30. Due to encampment closures, the shelter expects to help more people in need.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Robert Rapp Jr., the shelter\u2019s executive director, said he expects the facility to be at capacity within the next month.<\/p>\n

Maria Shior, the director of volunteers at the shelter, said the encampment\u2019s removal did not affect its preparations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just went forward with the knowledge that we were going to be full this year,\u201d Shior said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rapp said the majority of occupants at the shelter have lived in the Lehigh Valley for years, if not their whole lives.<\/p>\n

However, Shior said the shelter is seeing more newly unhoused people who are experiencing their first-time facing eviction.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She said this isn\u2019t generational homelessness but rather a result of current issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c(Homelessness) is higher than it\u2019s ever been, but we\u2019re still not at capacity,\u201d Shior said. \u201cWe also are seeing more newly homeless folks. Folks that have never been, this is the first time they ever faced eviction.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jeremy Lormand, the resource navigator at the shelter, said the most challenging aspect guests face is uncertainty, especially surrounding the changing landscape of what\u2019s available or considered an appropriate place for them to go.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the emergency shelter, he said the people operating the facility would be happy to take in the people being relocated from the Hill-to-Hill encampment or as many as they have room for.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe number one thing I\u2019d like from the community is to lead first with empathy and understanding rather than judgement,\u201d Lormand said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rapp said the shelter offers hot meals every night of the week, showers, as well as supportive services for mental health concerns, physical health and sometimes spiritual health including religious counseling.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He also said entry to the shelter is much simpler than before, when people used to have to go to shelters in different churches. Now, he said residents can keep their same beds for as long as they need as long as they follow the shelter\u2019s rules.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rapp said most people are thankful for the rules and structure, which are there to ensure safety and security.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is quiet here at the shelter,\u201d he said. \u201c(Guests) feel like they can get a good night\u2019s sleep because they\u2019re safe.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rapp said part of the shelter\u2019s intake process asks guests to pick from seven different categories of help to personalize their experience to best meet their needs. He said people are allowed to stay in the shelter for however long they need, whether it\u2019s one night or for the entire operation season from November to the end of April.<\/p>\n

For those who don\u2019t wish to stay at the shelter, Rapp said the facility provides tents and sleeping bags.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shior said the shelter also works with other local organizations like Northampton County\u2019s RISE van and the Hope Center on Broad Street to help those in recovery from substance abuse. It has providers and partners with nonprofits including the Victory House, Street Medicine, Merakey and Chimes, as well as DeSales University and Lehigh.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not successful without partnerships,\u201d Shior said. \u201cWe need our partners to succeed. We do not want to be the only shelter. We need all of us to be working together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bethlehem also supports the shelter with grant opportunities, but Rapp said it\u2019s always a challenge after the grants\u2019 payment periods conclude.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said the majority of the grants offered aren\u2019t recurring, so staff have to continuously reapply for them in hopes to receive the necessary funds to operate.<\/p>\n

Rapp said funding comes from philanthropic groups, churches, private businesses and Northampton County. He also said volunteer, partner and community support have saved the shelter about $100,000 a year for meals.<\/p>\n

He said the shelter is currently working with the city to have their services operate year-round.<\/p>\n

The facility has already grown from sheltering four and a half months to six months out of the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur folks are starting over,\u201d Rapp said. \u201cWe have to be a part of the conversation in trying to get the community to understand that we need to explore different models than what we are currently exploring for entry-level housing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every season, the shelter conducts exit interviews to see how it can improve operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rapp said they\u2019ve heard positive feedback from guests about how the shelter is warm, comfortable and feeds them sufficiently.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shior said volunteers are crucial to the shelter\u2019s success. They participate in trauma-informed care, anti-bias training, first aid and more to meet the facility\u2019s needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She also said the shelter is looking for volunteers who can help long-term because consistency has the greatest positive impact.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lormand said he\u2019s motivated to continue diligent work to support the people he\u2019s met through his job.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn whatever challenging circumstances, they still come each day with their goals, values and hopes for something more for themselves,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

If you would like to help Bethlehem Emergency Shelter, visit their website<\/a> to donate finances or see their wish list.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Dec. 15, all individuals living in the homeless encampment located by the Hill-to-Hill bridge will be moved…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37621,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[5451,153,155,154,524,4736,295],"class_list":{"0":"post-37620","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bethlehem","8":"tag-5-minute-read","9":"tag-bethlehem","10":"tag-bethlehem-headlines","11":"tag-bethlehem-news","12":"tag-community","13":"tag-housing","14":"tag-top-stories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37620"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37620\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}