The staff includes case managers, facilities coordinators, development associates, and a person who helps locate potential housing options.
When the staff was first told that their offices would be moved to the old Macy's at the Landmark Mall, Copeland said she thought the idea was odd.
"At Christmastime, Shannon brought me and my staff here to see this space and I was like, I don't get it. Like I just, I don't get it," Copeland said. "We are standing in the old women's section, I can see the makeup counters, I can see that this was a Macy's, I can see the doors pulled out, I can see the mall. I see the escalators, I don't see how this is going to be a shelter."
"But I came here about a week before we moved and I was like, I get it."
Now that the staff has settled into their new offices, they don't think about the site's history as much. They're thinking about their core mission: helping their residents.
"My goal is singular, my staff's goal is singular: move you out of shelter as quickly as possible," Copeland said.
In addition to the full- and part-time staff, Carpenter's Shelter operates with the help of about 1,200 volunteers every year. The volunteers help with career counseling, serving meals, and giving medical checkups, among other things.