Day Shelter Community

 
 

Moving from survival to resilience, together.

Our trauma-informed team addresses survival needs while building trust and fostering hope in a safe, women-focused environment.

FIND HELP | GIVE TO SUPPORT WLP

Walking through our doors is the first step towards healing and community.  

On day one, staff begin building trust by providing essential supplies for daily and urgent needs, including feminine hygiene products and emergency clothing. We learn each guest’s name and connect with her gently and authentically. 

At WLP, a guest can do her laundry, take a hot shower, and access mail services to send and receive mail when she lacks a safe or permanent address. She can recline in a comfortable reading room and make use of our donor-supported library. 

Guests build resilience, strength, and hope as they enjoy a wide range of creativity, movement, and mindfulness classes at WLP. In partnership with organizations across Greater Boston, we organize engaging day trips—such as private museum tours and visits to a local partner farm—in spaces that our guests would not otherwise be able to access and enjoy. 

NEEDS AT OUR DAY SHELTER COMMUNITY

We stock essential personal care items and emergency clothing for guests—along with other practical supplies and household goods—to help meet women’s immediate, everyday needs with dignity. Learn more about the items we provide to our guests. 

SEE OUR CURRENT WISHLIST

Our day shelter is a hub of activity—staff encourage guests to engage in housing, healthcare, and recovery programs at their own pace. Through a caring approach, the day shelter team is both physically and emotionally present, ready to assess and help guests access critical services.

 
 

FOSTERING EMPOWERMENT & SELF-SUFFICIENCY

Situated within our day shelter, the Resource & Empowerment Center is a space where—with support from talented staff, interns, and volunteers—women can access tools to advocate for themselves. 

Our programming helps women secure better jobs and increase their earning potential. Guests have free access to computers, telephones, personal voicemail, office supplies, reference materials, and a library. 

Guests often turn to the Resource & Empowerment Center for: 

  • Individualized learning on workforce development and digital literacy 

  • Job fairs and mock interviews held in collaboration with local employers 

  • One-on-one support with taxes, budgeting, and debt relief

THE BIGGER PICTURE…

Research shows us that women arrive at Women’s Lunch Place carrying deep and often invisible trauma—experiences of violence, loss, and instability that have shaped every part of their lives.

But homelessness is not just the absence of housing; it’s the absence of safety, routine, and belonging. It’s not having a place to receive mail, to take a shower, to put on clean clothes, or to sit at a table and create something alongside other women who understand. At Women’s Lunch Place, healing begins in community, within a women-only space where dignity, trust, and connection can be reborn.