About Us
Mission Statement – Emmaus Haven is a temporary homeless shelter program for men that will encourage them to rebuild their lives, personally, spiritually, in a warm and safe setting.
Goals – Emmaus Haven’s goals for each individual is that they are safe, dry, warm, fed, encouraged to be his or her better self, set on a spiritual path if he or she desires, and learning.
Vision Statement – The overall vision is to help homeless people improve their quality of life becoming self-sufficient and becoming re-established in the community decreasing homelessness.
Emmaus Haven seeks to make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring in Venango County. Through temporary and transition housing programs, medical outreach, supportive services and other assistance initiatives, we will do our best to help those who are homeless, one individual at a time.
HOMELESSNESS IN VENANGO COUNTY
Homelessness in Venango County can be categorized a few different ways. There are those who are “Street” homeless. These are the individuals that are literally homeless and report that they have nowhere to go or can no longer remain where they were staying. There are the people that “couch surf” with friends or relatives and bounce around from place to place. Also, there are the individuals coming out of rehab, hospital or correctional facilities that do not have a place to reside. We also receive numerous calls from people who are about to be evicted due to an inability to pay their rent or their utility bills or a variety of other reasons. We are contacted several times a month from people who are experiencing these life events.
CHANCE FOR A CHANGE
By providing a safe environment for homeless adult males, where the residents have the peace of mind and comfort of knowing where they will sleep at night, have access to food every day, be able to wash their clothing and take daily showers, enables the residents to concentrate on why they are in a homeless situation and to work on the barriers that caused their homelessness. When they do not have to worry about those basic daily needs, they can better concentrate on their main goal of finding permanent housing. When this opportunity is taken seriously, and the residents put in the necessary work, they have been able to obtain their identification cards, reinstate social security benefits, gain employment, apply for and receive public housing as well as pursue other housing options. By working with other Venango County agencies and entities, many residents have been able to get help with getting back on track with the assistance of local agencies including Human Services, Community Services, Family Services, the VA, Court Supervision, State Probation/Parole and Health Services. We encourage the residents to positively support each other in their journeys, be good neighbors and make the necessary changes to come out of homelessness.