Standing outside the Cumberland County Courthouse on Tuesday, Bishop Benny Bryant Jr. wore jeans and a gray T-shirt that read “pray serve love.” Sweat dripped down his forehead as he spoke into a microphone, pacing his words, under the blazing sun. The heat index was 108 degrees; it didn’t seem to bother him. He had an urgent message about the need for local government to support the unsheltered.
“We are in need of help,” the pastor said. “And we need our city officials to help us in that endeavor of getting people off the streets. It’s hot, the weather, the heat is unbearable. And we need for people to get out of their AC and have a little compassion. Compassion is what’s needed. This is America. And in America, we take care of each other, whether big or small.”
Bryant is the senior pastor at Cornerstone Christian Empowerment Center in Spring Lake. His church had been used by Cumberland County as a white flag shelter on freezing nights this past winter. He expressed concern at Tuesday’s press conference about recent decisions made by county and city officials following the abrupt closure of the Salvation Army’s Pathway to Hope shelter — the only emergency homeless shelter in the county open to all ages and genders — on April 15.
County commissioners, as of late last week, had not made a decision as to what emergency shelter option they would pursue after negotiations to reopen the Salvation Army shelter fell through. Veronica Jones, vice chair of the board of commissioners, said county staff and the commissioners are examining options but wouldn’t specify any providers or shelter options they are considering.
“We’ve got a few options that we feel are very promising,” Jones said on June 20. “We know the urgency to put something in place for emergency shelter.”
Following the Salvation Army shelter’s closure, the county had initially intended to fund Cornerstone Christian Empowerment Center as a temporary emergency shelter to rehouse men who were staying at the Salvation Army; the county would have also paid for hotel stays for women and children. However, days after agreeing to this temporary plan, on May 19, the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners opted instead to continue negotiations with the Salvation Army to reopen its shelter, after representatives from the Salvation Army spoke at the board’s meeting that day.
Patrice Williams, who manages white flag operations at Cornerstone Christian Empowerment, told CityView on Wednesday that the group never heard back after submitting a proposal, which the commissioners considered in May. The county also didn’t invite Cornerstone to the May 19 meeting to discuss its proposal, though Salvation Army was invited.
“We’re having a hard time understanding why they wouldn’t even look at what we wanted to do to help in an emergency situation right now,” Williams said.
On June 20, the county again reversed course, canceling contract negotiations with the Salvation Army. In a press release that day, the county said it found “multiple ongoing issues and unresolved concerns” with Salvation Army’s operations, including outstanding debts and mold in the facility. The press release also said that the city is “considering contributions toward shelter operations” but staff were waiting on approval from the Fayetteville City Council to do so.
Bryant and other speakers on Tuesday urged the county to utilize his church as a shelter. He said he had already begun preparing to open up his church for emergency shelter use when he learned the negotiations with the Salvation Army fell through. He urged local elected officials to make a decision quickly, and reiterated that he’s ready to step up to the plate.
“It is a sad day in which we cannot be neighborly with those who are most vulnerable,” Bryant said. “Our church provides nutritious meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner and hot meals. But at the same time, we need for our county officials to meet [and] make a decision about using us as an emergency shelter. And we will begin immediately following their decision.”
Local community advocate Theodore Trainor said it’s a logical choice for the county to use the Cornerstone Christian Empowerment Center as a temporary emergency shelter and argued there’s no reason to keep delaying a decision.
“You have somebody here, a gentleman who owns a church, that’s the logical thing to do is start right here where he has the services, the buses, the beds, the water, the nutrition, the food for these people to actually get a head start,” Trainor said. “And it’s hot,” he said and pointed at each individual in the small group of listeners. “You’re hot, you’re hot, you’re hot, you’re hot — everybody’s hot. So everybody needs shelter, food, water, just the basic necessities. And if you have a man here who’s ready to do it, that’s the logical move because all the red tape is already accounted for.”
Another community organizer who works with those experiencing homelessness, Mario Hardy, was not involved in the press conference but stopped by to listen. After listening, he said he agreed that the heat posed dangers to the unsheltered, especially after cooling shelters close each day at 5 p.m. Still, he said he believed progress was being made with the city and county working together with community partners to support people experiencing homelessness now. He said he is working to support 68 unhoused individuals that were displaced from the Regency Inn when it was shut down in late May and the county is paying for them to stay at Knights Inn while connecting them with support services.
“You can’t just point one way,” Hardy told CityView. “We have to point in all directions to make sure everybody gets credit for the work that they’re doing. But I will say that Cumberland County, the City of Fayetteville, the community are working together to do the best they can with the resources that they have.”
Stuart Collick, who previously ran unsuccessfully for Fayetteville City Council District 4 and told CityView he plans to run again in the November election, said city and county elected officials need to do more to assist the homeless population given the lack of an emergency shelter and life-threatening heat outside. The latest count confirmed 383 homeless individuals in Cumberland County, though the exact number is likely far higher, according to the Fayetteville-Cumberland County Continuum of Care, which served 845 individuals experiencing homelessness in Cumberland County from 2023 to 2024.
“We got children out there. You don’t know if they’re going to be the president, the senator or whatever. You got older folks who paid the price for us to make it where we are at now,” Colick said. “Who’s your neighbor? Everybody.”
Government accountability reporter Evey Weisblat can be reached at eweisblat@cityviewnc.com or 216-527-3608.
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