The Porchlight Men’s Shelter is located at 1904 Bartillon Drive, in Dane County’s first purpose-built shelter facility. To learn more about the shelter background, fundraising efforts, and answers to frequently asked questions, feel free to visit the City Men’s Shelter page.
The Men’s Shelter provides overnight shelter to male-identified adults.
Effective 9/1/26, the shelter has a fixed capacity of 250 beds and operates a waitlist
– it is no longer a drop-in shelter.
Guests must be offered a bed in order to access shelter.
To get on the waitlist for a shelter bed, guests must connect with a Day Shelter or Street Outreach team, and ensure their contact information is updated in HMIS.
Location: 1904 Bartillon Dr Madison, WI 53704
Phone: (608) 416-1446
Shelter Hours: 5:00pm – 8:00am, daily
Intake Hours: 5:00pm – 8:00pm*
*Guests whose work schedules prevent them from entering shelter during regular intake hours may be approved for late entry in accordance with the shelter Late Entry Policy.
While the shelter remains overnight only, Porchlight is continuing to provide direct shuttle transportation
for enrolled guests from The Beacon day shelter (615 E Washington Ave) to the Bartillon shelter between
4:15pm and 4:45pm each day, and from shelter back to The Beacon between 7:15am and 7:30am each morning.
When you are offered a bed and confirm with the Shelter Waitlist Administrator that you are coming,
you will be scheduled for an enrollment with shelter staff. When you arrive:
*Some items cannot be brought into shelter. Please review the Men’s Shelter Policies & Procedures linked below
for more information about belongings, prohibited items, and security screening.
Guests who have a bed must check in and use their assigned bed each night in order to keep it.
Shelter guests are expected to help maintain a safe and respectful environment for all guests, staff, volunteers, and community members. Violence, threats, harassment, weapons, drugs, alcohol, theft, vandalism, and other behaviors that create safety concerns are not permitted.
The purpose of emergency shelter is to help guests move toward permanent housing. During an initial
90-day stay, guests are strongly encouraged to participate in case management and other housing services,
but participation is not required. After 90 days, guests who need to extend their stay in shelter are required
to engage in housing-focused case management.
