HEBBVILLE ? This month, Salem UMC began inviting homeless people to stay at the church, the only overnight church shelter in Baltimore County, said the Rev. Colin Phillips. With room for 18 people, the shelter will be open every Wednesday night, and unlike most such temporary facilities, 'we concentrate on families with infants,' Phillips said. Volunteers from the congregation will provide breakfast, a bag lunch and dinner, and oversee the residents. The church is working through the Baltimore County Office of Community Conservation, which provides two regular full-time shelters. 'The problem of homelessness is under-reported and horrendous,' said Phillips, who is a licensed clinical professional counselor and has worked for two years with mentally ill people in the Harford County criminal justice system. 'At Salem, we are becoming connected to our community through the shelter, which is the beginning of making us relevant to the community and giving us an evangelistic identity,' he said.
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