On the heels of the Salvation Army’s sudden closure of its emergency homeless shelter in Fayetteville, Cumberland County will provide $400,000 to help people experiencing homelessness.
The funds will provide three months of shelter and make up for the 50 to 60 beds lost when the Salvation Army’s Pathway to Hope shelter suddenly closed on April 15, Assistant County Manager Heather Skeens said. She said the funds would pay for 50 beds for men at the Cornerstone Christian Empowerment Center and hotel rooms for families and single women.
“The closure of the Salvation Army has left a gap in our shelter beds here in our community,” Skeens told the commissioners. “This plan is a short-term solution to the loss of these beds and provides time for us to evaluate immediate solutions or intermediate solutions.”
The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners agreed to provide the assistance at its work session on Thursday, and the board is expected to formally approve the measure on May 19. County Manager Clarence Grier said informal operations could begin as early as next week.
When Pathway to Hope closed, shelter occupants were given just a few hours to pack up their belongings and find new accommodations. Some had nowhere to turn, as they were given no notice or assistance from the Salvation Army in rehousing.
While the other shelters in the county cater to specific groups, the Salvation Army shelter accepted families, as well as single men and women. Skeens said the Salvation Army’s closure means the county now only has two emergency shelter options: about 20 beds in the men’s only homeless shelter operated by the Manna Dream Center, and limited space at the county’s CARE Family Violence Center, which provides temporary emergency shelter to women and children fleeing domestic violence situations.
The county will pay for the short-term housing with $92,265 in unused White Flag shelter funds, $28,000 in County Homeless Initiative Funding, $15,000 in Community Development General Funding and $264,735 in American Rescue Plan Act funds.
Grier said the county is working with community partners to evaluate and implement intermediate solutions for shelter space when the three months are up. He said staff have been in discussions with the Salvation Army about potentially reopening their services, but those conversations have not led to any definitive outcomes yet.
“This is just short term, no more than 90 days,” Grier said. “We will have to engage other partners and hopefully at the start of the new fiscal year, Salvation Army will have new leadership and they will reopen and reestablish their services.”
The county is in the process of constructing a homeless shelter set to open in 2027. Until then, Board of Commissioners Chair Kirk deViere said it’s the county’s responsibility to provide emergency shelter to its most vulnerable residents.
“I think with the shortage that we immediately see with the Salvation Army, I think there is a need to fill that gap as a health and human services agency,” deViere said. “When we have families and women in this community that don’t have a shelter over their head, then I think there’s a cause for government to step in.”
Government accountability reporter Evey Weisblat can be reached at eweisblat@cityviewnc.com or 216-527-3608.
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