About Us

The purpose of the Tioga County Homeless Initiative

PROVIDE A WARM, SAFE, and CARING ENVIRONMENT
for individuals and families who experience homelessness.
Tioga County Homeless Initiative (TCHI) Program Summary:

TCHI is a group of individuals concerned about the growing homeless population within our communities.  TCHI’s mission is to  provide a warm, safe, and caring environment for individuals and families who experience homelessness.  Our goal is to continue provide assistance to the homeless of Tioga County.


The shelter is supported by a faith-based network of churches and organizations within Tioga County.  The shelter operations with churches, organizations and volunteers who staff the shelter and who help provide a warm, safe place to sleep. The shelter provide our guest with bed , two meals, access to a washer/dryer, and a shower facility.  The Director of Operations does a sex offenders check on every person before an intake is started.

The scheduled week begins Sunday afternoon 5:00pm to Saturday night at 9:00 pm.  The evening volunteers from the churches and organization who team up for fellowship hours between 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm, also provide the evening meals at the shelter.  Evening meals are served around 6:00pm.  The shelter has a curfew of 10:00 pm and lights out at 11:00 pm.   Breakfast provisional are provided for each person to make their meal. The day begins 5:30am when lights come on, this gives the guests time to get dressed eat before leaving the shelter by 7:00 am.  All guests staying at shelter are required to help with up keep and cleaned up.   The shelter works with all school districts to provide school aged children with transported to the school in which they are enrolled.  Adults and non-school aged children are transported to a local community for the day (weekdays [via public transportation, weekends via the TCHI vehicle]).  During the day the adults should be looking for work, looking for affordable housing, shopping, taking care of their children, etc.  At the end of the day, everyone will be transported back to the shelter (weekdays [via public transportation, weekends via the TCHI vehicle]).

For school aged children, legislation requires school districts to provide for the education of homeless youth, therefore the district is responsible for  transportation to and from the schools.   Ultimately it will be the parents’ responsibility to notify the school districts of the situation and to ensure their children can attend school.  The TCHI will help in any way possible but ultimately it will be the parents’ responsibility.

This initiative is quite an undertaking, especially since all positions and support will be on a volunteer, non-paid basis.  There will need to be an incredible amount of coordination and cooperation between all groups within the TCHI Organizational Structure to make this a successful ministry.

The shelter is located at:
2580 Charleston Road
Mansfield, Pa 16933

Mailing address:
2580 Charleston Road
Mansfield, Pa 16933

We can be reached at:
Monday through Friday 9-5 / 570-724-9001 or after 5:00 PM and weekends at 570-439-9383