Lancaster Area Coalition for the Homeless (LACH)

The Lancaster Area Coalition for the Homeless (LACH) has partnered with Immanuel Baptist Church to offer shelter from severe weather to individuals and families without a home.  The LACH Warming & Severe Weather Center is a short-term emergency shelter designed to provide a safe place to sleep, meals, and basic hygiene items in a clean environment on cold winter nights. The Center is expected to officially open in November and will be available through April of 2025 on nights where the temperature drops below 40 degrees or the weather is otherwise unsafe for individuals who are unhoused or unsheltered.  The Center is being operated by the United Way of Lancaster County and will utilize LACH members and community volunteers to staff and support this shelter.  Immanuel Baptist Church has generously offered their gymnasium as the site for the Warming and Severe Weather Center to serve the community they call home. 

A national count of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January.  This count informs the need for local services and is factored into state funding of services in Lancaster County.

Annual event where LACH members and service partners provide resources to the community at locations throughout Lancaster County.  Resources are taken to communities like Heath Springs/Kershaw, Buford, Lancaster and Indian Land to ensure that residents from all over the County are easily able to connect with the resources they need.

Project Connect is held in late January / early February.

A national program featuring a week of activities and events bringing organizations, agencies and community members together to draw attention to the concerns of hunger and homelessness.  LACH hosts a local series of educational, service, fundraising, and advocacy events.  Hunger and Homelessness Awareness week takes place mid-November.