Cumberland County has extended its search for an organization willing to open and run a temporary homeless shelter.

The county launched its search at the beginning of July, and responses were due on July 17. Four organizations expressed interest. A little over a week later, the county reopened its request with a new deadline: 5 p.m. on Aug. 8.

“We know that real solutions require real collaboration,” Veronica Jones, vice chair of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners, said in a press release. “This extension is not about restarting the process; it’s about expanding the circle. We value those who’ve already responded, and we want to make sure every qualified voice has a chance to be heard.”

The goal is to “gather insights into potential service models that can enhance the quality of life and support for individuals experiencing homelessness,” according to the bid document on the county’s website.

The county is looking for organizations with space to accommodate at least 45 people, with no restrictions on race, religion, gender or age. Ideally, the request for information document reads, the chosen organization will have experience providing temporary shelter and related support services like case management and mental health support.

Assistant County Manager Heather Skeens said last month that the county will determine potential contracting opportunities, known as requests for proposals, based on responses. 

“If there are some approaches or buildings that have potential, then we would put out an RFP for contracted services,” Skeen said. “We are looking at any and all possibilities at this point.”

Once the county selects an organization, Skeens said the goal is to start providing emergency shelter services as soon as possible.

Local services are desperately needed since the Salvation Army of the Sandhills closed its Fayetteville shelter in April. The closure left Cumberland County without one of its largest emergency shelter, and the only one serving women and families. The county currently has only one homeless shelter for men and another for women and children who are victims of domestic violence.

The Salvation Army’s closure displaced at least 50 people. Another over 100 people were displaced when the Regency Inn, a low-cost motel in downtown Fayetteville, was condemned at the beginning of June. The county provided hotel rooms for about 72 people displaced by the Regency Inn’s closure, but that housing ended in July.

The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners tried to support the reopening of the Salvation Army’s homeless shelter. In May, the board voted to provide up to $563,000 per year for shelter operations if the facility could pass an inspection by the Cumberland County Department of Public Health.

The shelter failed the inspection after the public health department found mold in the bathrooms and “a separate area of concern,” according to a June press release from the county. County commissioners then ended contract negotiations with the nonprofit, with Jones citing the failed inspection and the debt the Salvation Army of the Sandhills owed to Dreamville Staffing Inc., a temp agency. 

The county is looking for a stopgap solution before it opens the Cumberland County Unhoused Support Center on Hawley Lane in late 2026 or early 2027. It will be a county-run 24-hour shelter with about 157 beds for men, women and families. 

“It’s really an opportunity for us to fill that gap for sheltering opportunities until we have a more permanent solution to the circumstance that we’re in,” Skeens said last month.

The county board of commissioners will provide an update on the center’s progress at its regular meeting on Aug. 11.

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 News Foundation of Greater Fayetteville.