Our History

The CHOC officially opened its doors in late June of 2005 and partnered with the One Night at a Time (ONAT) shelter that was already operating in the county. ONAT was a mobile shelter that was housed a month at a time in different host churches located throughout the county. As successful and needed as this program was, its mobility was recognized as problematic. Homeless individuals finding themselves in a different location each month had difficulty maintaining job stability. In addition, during winter months when driving became difficult, homeless individuals often arrived at the host church just in time to turn around and drive back to the CHOC. County administrators acknowledged these and other difficulties associated with mobility and advocated for acquiring another wing in the same building as the CHOC.

In October of 2006, ONAT officially began operations in the new wing and the mobility ceased to be a problem. At this point, a van arrived each night in Pottstown to pick up those folks that work or have business in the Pottstown area. Tokens are provided for these individuals to return to the Pottstown area as needed in the morning.

July 2007 brought another change as the CHOC and ONAT combined once again to form the CHOC with oversight transferred to RHD. This was a welcome change that brought many years of homeless service delivery and advocacy experience to Montgomery County and the CHOC. In its first month of operation under the new organization, many changes have occurred and many outstanding problems were addressed: long overdue roof repairs have begun, outstanding plumbing issues resolved, and staffing patterns altered to allow for a higher level of safety and higher level staff involvement and ownership of program goals and success.

In addition, corporate and church involvement are bringing much needed resources and donations. We are hoping additional talent and skills will help relieve some of the burden that homeless individuals experience.