Tuesday, 18 August 2009 05:57 Last Updated on Tuesday, 02 August 2011 20:00 Written by client

Emergency/Transitional Shelter

Red Shield Lodge
2400 Edison Ave, Fort Myers, Fl 33901
239-334-3745

Social Services Center

Our Social Services Center, the Red Shield Lodge, located on Edison Avenue near the City of Palms Ballpark, is The Army's 215 bed social services center. About 10 beds are reserved for overnight shelter. Other beds in the shelter are for residents who agree to a program of classes and training with the end goal of housing and employment. Single women, women and/or men with children, or families may enter the family unit at the shelter for 45 days or longer.

Employment and Housing

Casework and counseling are components of the family shelter program. Whether it is financial planning and job placement for a young, single mother living in our shelter or a transitional facility; health care for a family dealing with disease; or counseling and advocacy for a victim of spousal abuse; The Salvation Army is with those it serves every step of the way.

Case Management programs at the Army in Lee County are called Comprehensive Care and Comprehensive Aftercare and they provide participants the following:

• Life skills classes
• Vocational assessments
• GED classes
• Employment counseling
• Domestic violence counseling
• Substance abuse counseling
• Mental health counseling
• Housing assistance

A few examples of life-skills classes at the shelter are anger and stress management, budgeting and parenting.

Comprehensive Care includes a personalized range of programs for people to help them become self-sufficient via education, skill development, job opportunities, personal growth and freedom from dependency.

A client who successfully completes the care program can enter aftercare to receive help in maintaining employment, housing and a substance-free lifestyle. Aftercare participants attend weekly support and counseling classes. A social worker conducts home visits. Plus, children attend recreational activities.

These self improvement programs are provided to shelter residents to encourage self-sufficiency. Our goal is to break the cycle of homelessness through training and counseling.

Transitional Living

Once a shelter resident graduates from our Comprehensive Care program and enters the aftercare program, we can offer them temporary housing on or near our Red Shield Lodge campus, based upon availability.

They may remain with us for six months to two years and pay a modest rent. While here, residents hone new skills, save money and develop a comfort level for independent living. A Housing Case Manager provides personalized support. We also assist with referrals for permanent housing.

We have three temporary living sites:

1. Harbor House for men (six spaces with a Residential Assistant)
2. Light House for single women (four spaces)
3. Garrett House (two apartment units for single women or mothers with children)

Medical

Medical care is provided to the homeless and the uninsured through a program with the Lee County Health Department. The shelter provides medical respite beds, as well as the county's only TB Isolation Room. A daily clinic is offered at the shelter, in cooperation with a partner agency, Family Health Centers.

Primary medical care for the homeless or near-homeless includes HIV pre and post-test counseling, the residential respite unit with up to 90 days for the medically disabled, and sub-specialty referrals.

While under medical supervision, patients can take part in employment training and other aftercare programs.

Community-Based Corrections

Part of the shelter houses our corrections programs.

We have two contracts:
1. A Federal Bureau of Prisons pre-release program with intensive counseling
2. A state of Florida program that focuses on substance abuse rehabilitation and is a last chance program prior to confinement

Participants in both programs are housed in a secured area of the shelter and are provided housing services in a halfway house setting. Participants comply with strict, stipulated rules. The average stay is about six months.