In 2003, discussions among Charlottesville clergy and homeless advocates gave birth to the idea of PACEM.

Members of Charlottesville’s Downtown Ministerial Alliance realized they shared the experience of showing up for work in the morning and finding homeless neighbors sleeping in their doorways. When the Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless (TJACH) conducted the Point-in-Time Count, the results indicated that in the middle of winter dozens of individuals were living on the streets – in the woods, in their cars, in abandoned buildings, behind garbage dumpsters or on church property. The count supported the perceptions of the downtown clergy; that there was  a pressing need for a shelter for individuals who could not access existing programs.

The Downtown Ministerial Alliance and TJACH joined together, and they gave their nascent initiative the name PACEM – an acronym for People and Congregations Engaged in Ministry.

When PACEM opened their shelters in 2004, surveys indicated that 23% of individuals who were homeless were unsheltered. Last year, 7% of individuals were homeless were unsheltered.*

*TJACH Point in Time Count January 2004 & 2010.