The Ulster County Warming Center at the 2nda Iglesia La Mision Church, 80 Elmendorf Street, Kingston, opens each year when the weather gets cold, typically sometime in November. Operated by Catholic Charities, the center’s phone number is 845-481-4029. Schedule may vary; call before you go!
Emergency housing availability depending on the weather and other factors. Sometimes there are wait lists. Rather than contacting each shelter, it may be faster to call Ulster County’s emergency housing number, 845-334-5360. Or, Family of Woodstock, Inc., 845-331-7080 or 845-338-2370 which manages all of the sites listed below. Unless otherwise noted, help is available regardless of legal status, age, or gender. Places marked with an asterisk (*) have Spanish speakers available.
For families and single adults
Darmstadt Shelter, 40 Thomas Street, Kingston, 845-331-1395, on Facebook. Emergency shelter (up to 90 days) for up to 21 homeless men and women participating in daily substance abuse and/or mental health programming, who need a clean and sober place to live. Intensive supervision and support to individuals at risk of requiring a higher level of care, and those involved in the criminal justice system.
* Family Inn, 38 Thomas Street, 845-340-1847. Emergency shelter (up to 90 days) for families referred by the Ulster County Department of Social Services. Support services and all basic needs such as, food, seasonal clothes, hygiene products, towels, and bed linens.
* Washbourne House, 845-679-2485 or 845-338-2370, provides safe shelter, trauma-informed services, crisis counseling, and domestic violence education to survivors of domestic violence and their children. No wheelchair access. Contacts: Karen Storch, team leader, Kstorch@familyofwoodstockinc.org; Hannah Weiner, assistant program director, hweiner@familyofwoodstockinc.org; and non-resident assistant program director, Brianna Buckley, Bbuckley@familyofwoodstockinc.org.
For youth
Midway Kingston, 189 O’Neil Street, 845-339-5508, and Midway Ellenville, 3 Warren Street, 845-647-1346. Application required. Supervised transitional living program for adolescents 16-21, who are homeless and not yet prepared to function independently.
If necessary, youth may bring their infant children. Those who enter the program at age 16 can stay up to 24 months to complete high school. Others are limited to 18 months. Services include crisis intervention, individual and family counseling, educational support, life-skills training, job preparedness instruction, vocational and employment assistance, parenting instruction, help locating permanent housing
* Family House, Rosendale, 845-338-5953, short-term shelter for up to 14 youth ages 12-17. Initial stays of up to 30 days, with an option for 30 additional days. Individual, family, and group counseling for all clients; life skills training; access and advocacy for educational, medical, legal, mental health and substance abuse services; and services for youth involved in the juvenile justice system or family court.
Thanks to Ziyao “Jasmine” Zhang (Vassar College, 2024) for research.
Talking to kids
Teaching for Change has reading lists on gentrification & housing for all ages. Here are two examples.
A Place to Stay is best for ages 5-9 (32 pages, Barefoot Books, 2019, English). Themes include homelessness, poverty, feelings, imagination, and play. In this PBS video, Katherine Rodriguez-Agüero reads the book in English. Viewers can choose captions in English or Spanish.
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City (448 pages, Penguin Random House, 2016, English) follows eight Milwaukee families as they struggle to keep a roof over their heads. The book is best for older teens and adults but the National Building Museum has created a free teaching guide that they recommend for for grades 6 and up.
