Women’s emergency shelter coming to Cambridge by end of December

Cambridge is getting its first women’s emergency homeless shelter next month.

Construction is expected to be complete for a temporary location by Dec. 20 with the shelter being fully open soon after. Before it can start serving women experiencing homelessness, furnishing the temporary shelter at Grace Bible Church that will host 20 beds, 24/7.

The organization has a fundraising goal right now for its end-of-year campaign to hit $125,000.

“We have raised almost half of that now and so just looking to the community with our end-of-year giving campaign to help push us over the finish line,” said YWCA Cambridge’s CEO, Kim Decker.

YWCA Cambridge is seeing a growing need in the city for shelter beds for women, who often experience hidden homelessness. Although the 20-beds may not be enough Decker said, “it’s a start.”

The location for the shelter on Grand Avenue is temporary with a possibility to keep it going next winter as YWCA Cambridge continues to search for a more permanent location.

“We know that homelessness and the work that we’ve done and the research and studies we’ve done over the last two-years to establish a shelter, that there are a significant number of women who are experiencing homelessness who need a safe place to stay where they can get the supports.”

Decker added that the shelter for women will include wrap-around supports.

In September 2023, the region accepted its proposal for its Fee for Service funding program to address homelessness. Currently, they are raising capital funds to use towards the shelter.

“We’re needing to buy things like a commercial fridge and freezer, washer and dryer, dishwasher, beds, couches, linens, plates, and all of the things you would need to outfit your own home except on a much larger scale for 20 women,” said Decker.

YWCA Cambridge is getting support from a local company called Greentec, which specializes in e-waste recycling to safely dispose of old tech. They are currently matching donations up to $5,000.

The community is invited to donate online, checkout the Amazon Wishlist for YWCA Cambridge or start a fundraiser to support the shelter.

A Point-in-Time (PIT) Count was conducted at the end of October in the region, which included women in Cambridge, to find out what the latest numbers are of people experiencing homelessness and to get a better look at how many are experiencing hidden homelessness. Those numbers have yet to be released.