In July 2024, the Hope Mills Board of Commissioners created the town’s Homelessness Advisory Committee.

With the committee set to hold its first-ever meeting on Feb. 11, Commissioner Elyse Craver has one problem: three seats are still open, leaving half of the community member board positions unfilled.

“All of us need to join in on this,” Craver, who serves as the committee’s Hope Mills Board of Commissioners liaison, said in an interview with CityView. “I want my group to work.”

The Homelessness Advisory Committee is tasked with engaging community organizations like churches, public housing agencies, mental health providers and community members like the formerly unhoused, veterans and others to find solutions to homelessness in Hope Mills. Its main goal is to find and establish funding for programs and other resources needed to serve the town’s unhoused population. 

Craver said her ultimate goal is to establish housing options for the unhoused in Hope Mills similar to Community First! Village, a tiny home, RV home and RV village for people coming out of homelessness in Austin, Texas.

Appointed to the committee earlier this month, Kenneth Rogers Jr. is already working to create a program that helps the town’s unhoused residents get back into the workforce. Rogers Jr. brings his experience to the board as an economic development specialist and co-founder of the non-profit Rogers Generational Foundation, which works with at-risk youth.

“I wanted to join the committee so we can actually make meaningful change and try to create a program that lasts for years to come in Hope Mills,” Rogers said. He is also vice chair of the town’s Prime Movers Committee, which targets issues related to 18 to 39-year-olds in Hope Mills.

Two others currently form the Homelessness Advisory Committee: Carlene Bailey, a registered nurse, joined in August 2024 and Janet Singletary joined in October 2024. 

Craver is still trying to fill out the other three open seats. She is working to recruit someone from the Hope Mills Police Department. She hopes those from the town’s many faith organizations will consider joining. She also wants residents who are veterans, health care workers and business owners to become members. 

However, Craver said she is happy to have anyone join the committee who is passionate about helping the unhoused.

“I want someone that’s dedicated to the committee in the long run,” Craver said.

Hope Mills lacks resources for its unhoused

Craver said there aren’t currently enough resources in Hope Mills to help its unhoused residents, which she sees living in three main areas: near the Hope Mills’ Fit4Life location on Hope Mills Road, along Trade Street near Hope Mills Lake and behind Carlie C’s IGA off N Main Street.

Fayetteville Cares, the city’s resource center for the unhoused, is in downtown Fayetteville on South King Street. The center provides for people’s basic needs through haircuts, showers, laundry, food, phone chargers and a computer lab. It partners with 26 other service providers to provide resources like medical care, job training and more.

Fayetteville Cares director Cory Lamkins told the Fayetteville City Council’s Homelessness and Mental Health Committee earlier this month that his organization has been asked to connect with unhoused Hope Mills residents since the town lacks homelessness resources.

The county’s yet-to-be-built Unhoused Support Center will also be in downtown Fayetteville, one mile from Fayetteville Cares on Hawley Lane. Expected to open in 2027, the center will provide 24-hour shelter, food and counseling. In December, the county announced a workforce development program for the unhoused that would train eight unhoused community members in construction to help build the center.

Hope Mills does have The ALMS House, a Christian nonprofit that operates a food pantry, helps residents access clothing and household items and packs lunches for adults and children. The nonprofit can also help pay past-due utilities and cover copays for non-narcotic medications on a limited basis.

In April 2023, The ALMS House partnered with the Fayetteville-Cumberland County Continuum of Care, which focuses on homelessness intervention. In doing so, the group became one of the non-profit’s more than 96 community service providers. The ALMS House is now an access point for FAYCCCoC services.

“As a majority of the homelessness initiatives are located in or near the downtown Fayetteville area, the town is eager to assist in expanding CoC’s area of outreach,” states the Town of Hope Mills’ 2023 press release.

Ready to tackle homelessness?

Craver encouraged community members interested in addressing homelessness to attend the committee’s first meeting on Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. at Thomas Campbell Oakman Chapel. Subsequent meetings will be held on the second Tuesday of every month, except for July when no meeting will be held.

Hope Mills residents interested in being on the Homelessness Advisory Committee can fill out an application on the town’s website. Craver said committee members can expect to spend 1-2 hours in meetings a month, in addition to any time necessary to meet the committee’s goals.

“The best way to try to address it [homelessness], instead of mentioning or complaining about it, is to take action,” Rogers said, when asked why people should join the committee.

The town also has open positions on other committees and commissions:

  • The Appearance Committee is charged with improving the aesthetics of Hope Mills: 2 open seats
  • The Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee works with the town’s Parks and Recreation Department to recommend and plan programs and events: 1 open seat
  • The Prime Movers Committee, which aims to improve the lives of 18 to 39-year-olds and attract more young people to Hope Mills: 2 open seats
  • The Historic Preservation Commission helps identify and advises on the preservation of historic landmarks: 1 open seat
  • The Veterans Affairs Committee is made up of veterans of the U.S. Armed Services and advises on how to improve the lives of veterans: 2 open seats  

CityView Reporter Morgan Casey is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Morgan’s reporting focuses on health care issues in and around Cumberland County and can be supported through the CityView News Fund.