Firehouse Ministries was founded in 1983 as an outreach program of The Cooperative Downtown Ministries. On its first night, the shelter housed 12 men. These men slept on floor mats upstairs in the second floor dorm room. Eventually, 25 bunk beds were added to the dorm room accommodating 50 men each night. Today, more than 215 homeless men find a safe, welcoming bed at a Firehouse site.
For over 40 years, the Shelter has worked to improve and expand its programs and services for Birmingham’s homeless. Its success is seen in the fact that 90% of Shelter clients leave Shelter programs for permanent or transitional housing, or for needed medical, mental health, or substance abuse treatment.
For the first 20 years we existed primarily to meet the immediate food, shelter and clothing needs of the homeless. Since 2002, we have focused on assisting the men to achieve housing stability. We have done so by helping them successfully network their way through the social service continuum of services needed to end their current episode of homelessness.
Firehouse operates under the “Housing First” model which prioritizes providing permanent housing to people experiencing homelessness, thus ending their homelessness and serving as a platform from which they can pursue personal goals and improve their quality of life. Programs remove barriers to accessing housing, like requirements for sobriety or absence of criminal history.
Currently, Firehouse Ministries operates the largest day shelter for homeless men and women in Birmingham. The day shelter provides access to laundry services, showers, restrooms, lockers, toiletries, and a meal program where public meals are served up to four times a day. Food boxes are available to citizens that are experiencing food insecurity.
Furthermore, Firehouse Ministries operates permanent supportive housing for individuals with serious mental illnesses, permanent supportive housing for those with medical needs, and affordable low-income permanent housing in various neighborhoods throughout the Birmingham metro area.
Firehouse’s most recent distinctive contribution to the well-being of individuals experiencing homelessness is its growing emphasis on respite care, providing a humane discharge plan for individuals who are medically fragile, having been forcibly discharged from hospitals with multiple acute medical needs. The medical respite program (MRP) within the shelter is the only respite program for the homeless in Alabama.
Firehouse works extensively with other area agencies to resolve all sorts of inequities, through AIDS awareness workshops, health clinics, GED courses, life skills, literacy and educational classes, computer training, life skills workshops, employment counseling, employment readiness workshops, housing counseling, health care counseling, job placement opportunities, and substance abuse counseling. A partnership with a therapeutic fine arts program provides weekly access to easily neglected aspects of human experience through poetry, art, theater, yoga, movement, and dance. Our partners include, but are not exclusive of, Birmingham Aids Outreach, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) University and Hospital, Jefferson Blount St. Clair (JBS) Mental Health, Aletheia House, Disability Rights and Resources, Fellowship House, Pathways, and First Light.
Consider partnering with us to change the world one man and one day at a time!