Opportunity House Administration Offices

C. P.

I stayed there way back in the day when it was still called Reading Berks Emergency Shelter (R.B.E.S. for short). Initially they were great they actually allowed me to have my son in there illegally in the men's dorm believe it or not. Back then the basement had 130 men, and the first floor had 60, and the second floor had 50 women and children. I ended up getting a job and worked there as THEE maintenance "team"/staff member. Everything was donations, and part of my maintenance job was making runs every day to pick up donations. I had to keep a phone on me at all times, but I didn't mind being on call because of the help I had received from them and I actually enjoyed working there. Our head supervisor Valerie passed away and boy oh boy did the place really change... Unfortunately for the worst. A few women came in and decided they could get a grant for a million dollars which they did through a local politician that had grown up in children's homes and had a soft heart. First thing these women did was remove all the men from the basement, because they wanted to use that space to make money as a daycare center. That was the beginning of the end for the "emergency shelter". I actually made $5 for picking a name for the new program, it was, "The Second Street Learning Center". They then had me take all the bunk beds and replace them with single beds and put rooms in, to where there was only 40 men allowed... They packed up to 200 children per week in the basement... With the money they earned from that they bought various properties in the city and I was also responsible for taking care of them. After 4 years I moved on with my son, but I never got over the fact of how it used to be 40 churches that donated and kept that place afloat, and all us staff would stuff literally thousands of envelopes asking people for money... It worked beautifully... Then it became a business and the homeless shelter that it originally started as, when I left, it was sad in comparison to what it once was...

Alice Williams

I called for info about making donations and they are very helpful and pleasant.

Kiki S

All the people who keep saying they're money hungry obviously dont understand how charity works. They dont get all the funding that they need from the govt, if they did it would be a govt run program. Non profits get some money from the govt if they qualify for a grant and if there is enough grants, if any, to go around. All the rest comes from donations of cash and items. Your random trash donations dont supply the things they actually need so just like goodwill and salvation army, they sell them and use that money to actually run the non profit business. Just because you didnt get what you decided they should provide you, doesn't mean theyre not doing a service. They do what they can with whatever funds they get, despite the way you think it should work.

Gloria

I was ask to leave and I didn't mind but the way I was rushed out I had forgotten my glasses case I had a fever that day and I was trying my best to rush but I don't just want to throw my clothes in a bag I wanted to fold them I hate to rush so if you come here I suggest for you to leave your clothes in your suitcase or in your bag it takes some time to get you in but they want you to leave they want to rush you out I'm not speeding Gonzalez