Since 1987, the mission of First Church Shelter has been to serve 14 men experiencing homelessness. It offers a safe space, home-cooked meals, and coaching. While in Shelter care, our guests strive to find housing, work, health services, and any other qualities of a good life they may need to get back on their feet. The Shelter aims to provide guests with a safe, dignified, and home-like space, along with hospitality and support, as they make steps to rebuild their lives. Guests are admitted via referrals from qualified professionals, and must not be dependent upon alcohol or drugs at the time of admission.
Circumstances for our 14 guests have become more difficult in recent years as housing availability, benefits bureaucracies, and costs in the greater Boston area have become barriers ever more difficult to surmount. As a result, the average stay of our guests lengthened during 2019 to about 7 months, and has slowed down even more as a result of the pandemic.With help from Homestart, Shelter staff offer guests support in the face of the often intimidating, difficult, and frustrating processes of identifying, applying for, securing, and waiting for public benefits and subsidized housing.
Monday through Friday, the Shelter opens at 4:00 every afternoon, and guests depart by 8:00 in the morning. On weekends, the Shelter is open all day.
Are you looking for shelter?
Here are some Frequently Asked Questions for prospective guests.
Who can stay in the First Church Shelter?
How do I get in?
How long can I stay?
What are Shelter Hours?
What are First Church Shelter facilities like?
Can I stop by and talk to someone about admission to the Shelter?
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Continue Support for The Transitional Wellness Center (TWC)
The City of Cambridge is planning to shut down dozens of shelter beds at the TWC starting June 30, 2025. Local providers and advocates say the city has no credible plan for serving the unhoused individuals starting July 1, 2025, and they are advocating for continued funding of the TWC. As a member of the First Church Cambridge community, you can show your support for the individuals who are at risk of losing shelter by contacting Cambridge City Council members (CityCouncil@cambridgema.gov) and the Cambridge City Manager (yihuang@cambridgema.gov). Tell them our community should prioritize meeting the health and safety needs of all its residents, including the poor and marginalized. Encourage them to find resources needed to continue the life saving and affirming shelter being provided by the TWC.
Celebrating Dennis Kaveney at the
2024 Doris Beauvais Luncheon & Mitch Snyder Awards
On Sunday, October 27, 2024, the Shelter Oversight Committee and members of the First Church community recognized 37 years of faithful service to our poor and unhoused by longtime Shelter staffer Dennis Kaveney. Cambridge Mayor Denise Simmons presented a resolution passed unanimously by the Cambridge City Council recognizing and commending Dennis’s decades of service. We are so happy to celebrate Dennis, and we’re even happier to have him continue as a per diem employee of the Shelter after his recent retirement.
