10/09/2025
How to Help Gettysburg CARES
Gettysburg CARES provides cold weather shelter to local folks experiencing homelessness. As we prepare for the upcoming winter, let’s step back and reflect upon our efforts, see what we can do better, and determine the best use of our resources. CARES is one of several organizations addressing issues related to homelessness, but it’s the only local emergency cold weather overnight shelter. CARES also offers guests breakfast and a Resource Center for showers, laundry and a fixed address.
Are we helping? Let’s look at some numbers.
On a single night each January, all communities in the US count those experiencing homelessness. This is a “Point in Time” (PIT) census of those readily identified as unhoused. These numbers are aggregated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Their national report comes out each December. More than 12,500 Pennsylvanians are homeless according the 2025 count, a decrease of about 10% from the 2024 number of 14,088. Adams County is part of the South Central Regional Homeless Advisory Board, a group of nine rural counties that coordinate their PIT counts. This region saw an increase of about 2.5%, although Adams County itself saw a decrease of about 8% from 2024 to 2025.
So what does this tell us?
Nationwide there was an increase from the 2023 to 2024 counts of about 12%, so it’s difficult to say how many of the County or Commonwealth’s homeless found housing versus how many simply moved away. At CARES, our number has remained consistent: We reach our capacity of about 30 guests as the temperatures dip toward freezing. Other local programs, such as free medical clinics and food pantries, have reported increases in how many people request their services. Thus, even if the number of unhoused folks may be decreasing, the number of the precariously housed seems rising.
Many of our guests become homeless due to circumstances beyond their control, such as job loss, family breakdown, health challenges, or sudden economic hardship. Helping them find housing is a community challenge, and CARES’ piece of that knotty puzzle is to provide shelter temporarily after such a sudden event, while maintaining guest safety, privacy, and dignity.
Chronic homelessness is costly to communities due to increased use of emergency services. Homelessness is closely tied to health concerns, including malnutrition, untreated illnesses, and lack of access to medical care. In the best case scenario, shelter programs decrease strain on public services, such as emergency healthcare, law enforcement, and social welfare programs. It’s pretty difficult to tease out just how much our shelter reduces that strain locally, but it certainly does so in some measure.
Want to help? Contact us about volunteering or provide financial support! The Adams County Community Giving Spree will be November 6th from 3:00 to 7:00 at the Gettysburg Wyndham. Come to our table, learn about our efforts, talk to volunteers, and consider volunteering yourself. More information is available at ACCFGivingSpree.org. Our sincere thanks to the Adams County Community Foundation for their work helping CARES to do ours.
Christopher Fee
Volunteer, C.A.R.E.S.
Graeff Professor of English, Gettysburg College
Member, College Advisory Council, Eisenhower Institute
Member, Menallen Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
Co-Clerk, American Friends Service Committee Northeast Region
Member, Standing Nominating Committee, American Friends Service Committee
https://www.gettysburgtimes.com/life_entertainment/columns/article_05faff9e-d185-4982-b018-1a989853cd1d.html
