The temporary homeless shelter is on the move again while a nonprofit organization continues to work on getting a permanent location.
The rotating shelter will be at the United Presbyterian Church at 214 Mahantongo St., Pottsville, from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. until Monday.
A coalition of volunteers established the temporary shelter just before the winter storm on Valentine's Day at Trinity Episcopal Church. Last week, the shelter was at the United Methodist Church. It will continue to rotate among city churches.
Meanwhile, Servants To All, a recently-formed nonprofit organization also involved with the shelter, is trying to acquire a building downtown.
As of Monday, the temporary shelter had about 13 or 14 guests at a time, Albert Nastasi, founder and executive director of Servants To All, said Monday.
"It's consistently growing," Nastasi said.
Some of the people at the shelter have since reconnected with family and moved to permanent housing, he said.
"There's been some success stories," Nastasi said.
The organization's project, called "My Father's House," will be a permanent shelter in downtown Pottsville and involve those there with community service and other activities by working with local businesses and agencies like CareerLink and SCORE as well as Service Access and Management Inc., Schuylkill Community Action and the Pottsville Housing Authority.
Nastasi said the shelter continues to receive clothing, food and other donations from the community.
"We have experienced nothing but an outpouring of love and support from the community," Nastasi said, adding he did not want to reveal the location until an agreement is reached. The owner, he said, is looking to donate the property. The organization previously applied for a zoning variance with the city for the former Jalapa Elementary School, Pottsville, but withdrew the application in January.
"Their hearts are in the right place and they are trying to do things the right way," Thomas Palamar, city administrator, said Monday.
The Pottsville area had a similar shelter program several years ago. A group of city churches took turns hosting the Ark House crisis housing program, but it ended in January 2009 because of a lack of volunteers and loss of its tax-exempt status.
Palamar said he has worked in social services for 15 years and the city, as the county seat, aims to accommodate public services and programs.
"I have a very acute awareness of what they are trying to do and appreciate how they are going about it," Palamar said. "As long as they are considerate of how their project affects the entire area, I think they can be successful."
Donations to the Servants To All temporary shelter can be forwarded to P.O. Box 1354, Pottsville, PA, 17901. Grocery store gift cards are preferred, Nastasi said.
Anyone looking to volunteer or help with the effort can call Nastasi at 570-573-0036.