The Cooperative Downtown Ministries, Inc.

Firehouse Shelter is located at 626 2nd Ave North in Birmingham, AL 35303 Cooperative Downtown Ministries, Inc. (Firehouse Shelter) provides homeless men ages 18 and older in the Birmingham area a nurturing and caring environment offering supportive services that break the cycle of homelessness and empower individuals to achieve their highest potential. Firehouse operates the only low barrier shelter for Birmingham, Alabama’s hardest to house individuals, including the largest day shelter for men in the area. Its guests are primarily chronically homeless men, but it includes all people who iden Firehouse now operates six facilities, from transitional housing, Safe Haven for men with serious mental illnesses, permanent supportive housing, and affordable low-income permanent housing in various neighborhoods throughout Birmingham. Its most recent addition includes a growing medical respite program for men not sick enough to remain in the hospital but too sick to live on the street. Firehouse operates the largest day shelter for homeless men in Birmingham, providing access to laundry services, showers, toilets, lockers, toiletries, and meals served up to four times a day. We network with other agencies to offer AIDS awareness workshops, health clinics, health screenings, GED courses, literacy and educational classes, computer training, life skills workshops, employment counseling, employment readiness workshops, housing counseling, health care counseling, job placement opportunities, and substance use counseling. In addition to the emergency shelter, Firehouse offers Safe Haven, a 24-bed specialized permanent supportive housing site designed for individuals with a severe mental illness; and apartments (20 beds) which offer affordable housing for men and women. Each program has case managers, access to transportation, and a gamut of supportive services, including support for substance use disorder. All housing is based on the Housing First Model, which is structured to keep chronically homeless housed more effectively by lowering barriers.