Andrew’s Place was founded in the winter of 1989 at the initiative of the vestry of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church to provide emergency winter sanctuary to homeless, elderly men. What began as dozen army cots in the church basement has evolved over the years into a full service emergency shelter that offers its guests both hospitality and empowerment. Throughout the winter, elderly guests are offered shelter in a safe, alcohol/drug free environment. Friendship House case managers are also on site each evening to work with those residents ready and willing to address the underlying causes of their homeless condition.

Since its opening, Andrew’s Place has served more than five hundred individuals. At a per diem cost of less than $12 per person, Friendship House is able to provide twenty-five residents each night with a hot shower, a home-cooked meal, a warm bed, and a safe place to spend the night. For some (10%), Andrew’s Place has been a loving sanctuary where they could die with dignity. For many (40%), Andrew’s Place is an emergency winter haven that enables them to survive another year on the streets of Wilmington. For an increasing number (50%), however, the shelter’s supportive communal atmosphere has served as the catalyst needed for them to re-establish themselves in independent housing.

The guest register of Andrew’s Place defies any easy classification of either the homeless or the elderly. "Tinker, Lawyer, Indian Chief" does not come close to describing the diversity of the residents’ backgrounds or careers. With the aging of the baby boomers, an increasing number of the "elderly" are men in their early fifties – that time of life more and more of their housed peers are describing as "late middle age". We have indeed had our lawyer – John – who showed up at Andrew’s Place in a cashmere overcoat with all his possession in the trunk of a leased Lexis; and our Indian chief – Sonny – whose body was found one morning floating in the Christina River; and if not a tinker, then chorus of sheet metal workers, crane operators and welders. We have also had our artists, singers, teachers, college students, farmers, salesmen and veterans of our nation’s various wars. Our oldest residents have included Uncle Francis, whose body still bears the scars he acquired as a young infantry man in the Pacific Theater of the Second World War, and Jerry, an 86 year old Willy Loman in pajamas and bedroom slippers, who walked out of a Florida nursing home, borrowed a car and went in search of his old customers. Over the years not every resident has been grateful or even civil. Some remain strangers until the day they leave. Each, however, is and always will be a child of God and therefore a gift to all who offer them hospitality.

In 2002, through a grant from First and Central Presbyterian Church Friendship House was able to convert Andrew’s Place into a year round shelter. Without reducing its services to the elderly, Friendship House was also able to use Andrew’s Place to offer short-term emergency shelter to homeless, single men recently released from residential treatment programs.

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Andrew’s Place
Management Plan

Category 1: Homeless, single men over the age of 55 without the economic means to pay for independent housing

Category 2: Homeless, single men over 50 who are in recovery and in a case management relationship with Friendship House

Category 3:Homeless, single men being released from a residential program who are in recovery and in a case management relationship with Friendship House

All clients must first be interviewed at the Friendship House Men’s Day Center. If accepted into the program, each person will fill out an intake form and be given the next available bed. If no bed is available, his name will be added to a stand-by list. Admissions are according to need and category:

So long as a Category 1 client cannot afford shelter and can function within the guidelines of the program, there is no limit to the number of nights that he can stay.

So long as a Category 2 client does not miss a night, maintains his recovery and adheres to the conditions of his management plan, there is no limit to the number of consecutive nights that he can stay.

So long as a Category 3 client does not miss a night, maintains his recovery and adheres to the conditions of his management plan, he can stay a maximum of ten consecutive days in a given calendar year.

Bed Reservations:

Clients completing their intake interview will be told immediately if they have a bed for the night or if their name is being put on a stand-by list. Clients on stand-by should check each day at the Men’s Day Center before noon. Open beds are awarded according to need and category.

All applicants receiving any form of income will be expected to save money during their stay at Andrew’s Place. Residents on General Public Assistance, Disability and/or Social Security are required to deposit one third of their monthly checks into the Friendship House Escrow Savings Account. Residents who are employed are expected to deposit one third of each paycheck into the Friendship House Escrow Savings Account. Any residents who refuses to save money and who withdraws his savings from the Escrow Account terminates his relationship with Andrew’s Place and will not be readmitted for six months after which his case can be re-evaluated by the staff.

Storage:

Each resident is allowed to store his personal possessions in an assigned locker and not more than two coats in the shelter storage room. NOTHING MORE!!! Each resident will also be allowed one small handbag or knapsack which he must carry out with him each morning. For sanitation reasons, no food or drink may be stored in people's lockers/duffel bags. For security reasons, Friendship House reserves the right to inspect people's possessions for stolen property and/or non-permissible items such as weapons, alcohol or drugs. Each morning the shelter will be cleaned and any item left by a resident anywhere outside of his storage locker will be considered unwanted and treated as trash to be disposed of. NO EXCEPTIONS! The unclaimed storage of any resident who has been absent from the shelter for seven consecutive nights will also be treated as abandoned property and disposed of.

Shelter Rules:

1. No going in and out of the building

2. No admission after 7:00 PM without permission

3. No going through other people's possessions

4. No alcohol, drugs or weapons on the premise

5. No sexually explicit words, actions, pictures, books or videos

6. No loud, violent or abusive behavior of any kind

7. Mandatory savings for residents with income

8. No eating or drinking outside the designated area

9. No smoking inside the building.

10. All bags and packages must be stored in the designated area.

11. Everyone must take a daily shower.

12. No wandering outside the designated area of the shelter

13. Everyone must neatly make their bed each morning.

14. No personal possessions may be left in the bedrooms or common rooms.

15. Everyone must be out of the shelter during designated hours.

17. Residents who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs will not be admitted.

Rule Violations:

Clients who violate any major shelter rule will be asked to leave immediately. Clients who violate any minor shelter rule will receive one warning. If they commit a second violation they will be asked to leave. Any Category 1 or 2 client who is asked to leave the shelter may not return for 48 hours. Any Category 3 client who is asked to leave the shelter for a rule violation forfeits his remaining time for that calendar year. All cases will be reviewed by the executive director, who will interview all the parties involved. Serious or repeated rule violations will result in a longer suspension or in the person being barred permanently.

Shelter Schedule:

This page was last updated on: 02/25/08 and has been seen times.