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Question:
I would like to open up a homeless shelter or a just a shelter to help people and I don't know what my first step would be
Answer:

 
Thank you for reaching out to us. Actually, we think you have already taken your first steps, by identifying and expressing your wish to create a shelter. That’s because without your intention, and your desire,  nothing else can happen!  
What comes next?  In your case, we think it would be a good idea for you to clarify what you have in mind. You can do this by simple reflection and by using your imagination. Can you visualize the shelter in action?  Try giving yourself an imaginary tour. You can certainly be creative, but be specific too.  This exercise may help you get clearer on just what it is you want.
Having done that, what would need to happen before your imagined (so far) shelter could operate?  For example, you would probably need a physical property – either purchased, donated, rented, leased, or shared.  There would be costs involved – what are they, and how much? You’d need staff. For facilities like shelters, approvals of different kinds are often involved, for zoning, health, utilities, and the like. And you’d also need to learn and comply with relevant state and local regulations.
 These are some of the likely factors you’d need to consider. They can be resolved, but it will almost certainly take some effort to resolve them. That’s just part of real-life community work.
 After that, it should also help you to learn about existing shelters similar to the one you now have in mind.  Then reach out to them, to learn more about how they operate and what advice they might have for you. The point here is to learn and be guided from others’ experience, both positive and negative.
 At around this point, it would be helpful as well to find a small group of others to work with you – unless you want to take on the entire project by yourself!  Working together with others will help take some of the load off of you, give you ideas you might not have thought of, allow others to contribute their particular strengths, provide practical and emotional support, and also help build relationships with others, which can be satisfying in their own right. That adds up to many advantages.
 There’s more involved of course, but we hope this will give you a start. In addition, some sections in the Community Tool Box may help you further, in particular the sections within Chapter 19, “Choosing and Planning Community Interventions.” Take a look if you can.
We hope this much has been helpful to you. If you follow through, we think you will find the work both engaging and challenging. And you may be able to help create something that is both beneficial to others and to your community. We hope so! We wish you every success as your work proceeds.

Question Date: Thu, 03/31/2022