LEHIGHTON, Pa. (WLVT) - Peaceful Knights Homeless Shelter is the only one in Carbon County, but it's just for men.
Aggie Schoenberger founded the Christian organization in 2007, which started out renting hotel rooms and apartments for homeless men and women.
“When we went under one roof, the big building on First Street, we had to choose men or women, and we always had a lot more homeless men than women. So in 2015, we went to only men," Schoenberger said.
A building just down the street from Peaceful Knights men's shelter on First Street in Lehighton was just purchased. It will serve as a women's emergency shelter -- and eligible women can stay longer for the transitional living program.
Before now, when homeless women in Carbon County needed help, they were helped in the Lehigh Valley.
Alisa Baratta is the executive director of Third Street Alliance in Easton, a shelter that houses women and their families. She says space is very limited right now due to Covid-19 precautions.
“There are very few shelters for women in the Pocono region, so it’s a really critical need and I think it’s a really great thing," Baratta said of the new shelter. "Because we don’t have capacity here in the Lehigh Valley, we’re pretty much filled up, so our ability to assist other counties isn’t as great as it might be outside of the pandemic."
Baratta says over 400 individuals are on a waiting list for shelter in the Lehigh Valley, and they expect more when a federal eviction moratorium ends on Jan. 1.
Click here to learn more about Third Street Alliance. Peaceful Knights has two Facebook groups that volunteers can join, 'Peaceful Knights Volunteers" and "Peaceful Knights - 100 People Praying."