Genesis Emergency Shelter for Men in Reading From Hope Rescue Mission
Genesis is Hope Rescue Mission's initial emergency shelter program for men in Reading, providing up to six months of support to 100 men per night.
Guests are provided three meals daily, free clothing and personal care items, and access to Wi-Fi, laundry facilities, and showers. Each evening, guests are encouraged to attend chapel services led by local church partners.
Case managers identify and coordinate support for the wide range of factors that led to each man's homelessness, including mental health, addiction, legal and financial struggles.
The Mission runs other programs at various times through the year that participants can move into. Alongside Life Coaching, which offers group classes and one-on-one meetings on basic life skills and spiritual enrichment, there are Workforce Development Classes, GED Preparation Classes, Smoking Cessation Classes, and one-on-one weekly mentorship. Through a partnership with Berks Counseling Center, Resilient Horizons provides mental health, drug and alcohol, and dual diagnosis services to participants who need clinical support. In partnership with Recovery Coaching Services, the Mission offers individual recovery coaching, support groups, and referrals to treatment and recovery programs, and it hosts AA and NA meetings onsite.
Two later steps follow the initial shelter. Safe Haven is the next step emergency shelter program, with up to three months of support for 53 men per night who have attained gainful employment or fixed income benefits; guests stay in a more private environment with their own lockable wardrobe and electrical outlets, and have access to the same resources as Genesis. Transitional Housing offers 90 single-occupancy, fully furnished rooms on housing contracts of up to six months, with extended stays of up to one year for seniors who qualify. It is meant to help residents save money, learn to manage a personal budget, and work with the Case Management Team to find permanent housing. To qualify, a man must first complete the emergency shelter program and demonstrate financial stability.
Hope Rescue Mission is at 645 North Sixth Street, Reading, PA 19601. Its general phone number is (610) 375-4224 and its general email is officemanager@HopeForReading.org, which you can use to ask questions about the shelter. The Mission has been a place of refuge for homeless men, women, and children of Berks County since 1894.
The page does not explain how to get a bed. It does not say whether you can walk in, whether you need a referral or an appointment, what hours intake happens, what to bring, or what the program costs, so ask when you contact the Mission.
Women and children are served at a separate site, the LightHouse Women & Children's Center, 715 North Sixth Street, Reading, PA 19601, phone (610) 484-4495.
Source: hopeforreading.org/programs, read September 18, 2026.
The details
In Hope Rescue Mission’s words
Genesis is our initial emergency shelter program that provides up to six months of support to 100 men per night. Guests are provided three meals daily, free clothing and personal care items, and access to Wi-Fi, laundry facilities, and showers. Each evening, guests are encouraged to attend chapel services led by local church partners.
Organization
Hope Rescue Mission
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This listing summarizes publicly available information from hopeforreading.org/programs. Last recorded review: September 18, 2026. Contact the provider to confirm eligibility, hours and availability before you go. If something here is wrong, tell us.