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Providing Shelter and Transitional Housing

Stabilizing clients' lives and breaking the cycle of homelessness

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Our shelter program consists of Emergency Shelters and Permanent Supportive Housing programs. Family and Community Services serves Monroe County residents, both individuals and families, who are homeless.

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After Hours Placement

(585) 442-1742
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Francis Center Phone

(585) 423-9590
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Sanctuary House Phone

(585) 277-7550

What the Program Offers

Our emergency shelters offer a client-focused approach that provides individualized case management and supportive counseling to break the cycle of homelessness and stabilize clients’ lives:

  • Francis Center, for men
  • Sanctuary House, for women and women with children, and

Residents receive the following services:

  • Safe and secure overnight accommodations
  • Three-square meals a day; all residences with children are provided nutritious meals, as monitored by the Children Adult Care Feeding Program (CACFP), which provide high quality protein sources such as milk, low fat dairy products, and lean meats as well as fruits, vegetables and multi-grain products
  • Individualized case management services that include intake/assessment service planning, information/referral and follow-up
  • Alcohol/substance abuse and mental health referral
  • On-site drug and alcohol education, literacy training, employability assessments, and other services as needed
  • Housing assistance

Eligibility criteria

Anyone who is currently homeless or at risk of being homeless, and is in need of emergency housing must go in person to the Monroe County Department of Human Services (DHS) at 691 St. Paul Street to be assessed for placement. The DHS “after hours” information line is (585) 442-1742 for after hours placement.

2-1-1/LIFELINE is a Mission Program of Goodwill of the Finger Lakes. Anyone in crisis can call 2 -1 -1 / LIFELINE for tele-counseling and Information/Referral. In addition to their other services, they provide referral information to DHS, or in immediate situations assist with advocacy.

Referrals for emergency and transitional housing are received from Monroe County Department of Human Services (DHS), Willow Domestic Violence Center (formerly Alternatives for Battered Women/ABW), Salvation Army, Monroe County Re-Entry Task Force, NY State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS), hospitals, community agencies, police departments, self-referrals and others. Clients must be homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Intake Process

The intake process is performed on site after arriving at the shelter. The client is welcomed, and offered food, a tour and bed arrangements. Immediately following, the client is given house rules and expectations, and is then introduced to the case manager for additional follow-up.

Program Cost

There is no cost to the client for emergency shelter if placed by DHS. Self-referrals and referrals from another program are considered on a case by case basis, and the fee is based on a sliding scale as appropriate.