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Drop-In Shelter Seeks Donations

A homeless camper was forced from his encampment on a cloverleaf at I-95 and Dale Boulevard, near the Bill Mehr Drop-In Center, in 2011. . (Mary Davidson/PotomacLocal.com)

By Kristina Schnack Kotlus

Woodbridge, Va. —With cold weather setting in, the drop-in shelter run by the Christian Cooperative Council of Ministries is looking for donations of necessary items.

Known as the Bill Mehr Drop-In Center, or the winter shelter, the Mehr Center provides a space for the chronically homeless to meet and receive medical attention, receive job referrals, and meet basic needs. The center is different from the Volunteers of American Hilda Barg Homeless Prevention Center in Woodbridge, which actually houses families facing homelessness.

The Mehr Center provides a place to warm up, as many of the homeless who use the center live in camps or tents.

The shelter currently needs:

  • Paper products-plates
  • Bowls
  • Cups
  • Paper towels
  • Napkins
  • Toilet paper
  • Plastic utensils
  • Non-alcoholic medicines
  • Coffee
  • Creamer
  • Sugar
  • Coffee filters
  • Instant oatmeal or other instant hot cereals
  • Gatorade
  • Juice
  • Drink boxes
  • Boxed milk in individual sizes
  • Single serve breakfast or lunch items
  • Canned items (with pull top lids preferable)
  • Lasagna
  • Chili
  • Spaghetti
  • Ravioli
  • Canned tuna/chicken
  • Mac n cheese
  • Soup
  • Vienna sausages
  • Personal hygiene supplies

The drop-in shelter sits next to the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission bus terminal on Potomac Mills Road in Woodbridge.

 

 Bill Mehr Drop-In Center

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