'Change people’s lives': Here's what we know about Cumberland County's homeless center

After years of talking about a remedy for Cumberland County’s homeless issue, the county broke ground at 344 Hawley Lane for a homeless support center last week.

According to the area's last Point-in-Time homeless count in February 2023, there were at least 474 homeless individuals in the county.

Officials say the shelter will work with Fayetteville’s Day Resource Center on King Street but will serve as a 24-hour place for homeless individuals to go, while also providing other programs.

The Salvation Army of the Sandhills Region at 245 Alexander St. and True Vines Ministries, 535 Morganton Road, serve as overnight “white flag" shelters for the county when temperatures reach the freezing mark.

Here’s a look at the county’s plans for the shelter.

Where will the shelter be located?

Permits state the property is 1.86 acres and includes county-owned parcels at 344, 348 and 352 Hawley Lane and a plot on Plummers Lane. It is next to Fayetteville Technical Community College’s Education Center, which used to be Pauline Jones Elementary. The property is north of Person Street, south of Grove Street and west of B Street.

Who will the shelter serve?

During Jan. 8 city rezoning and special permit use hearings for the shelter, Glenn Adams, chairman of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners, said the shelter will be for men, women and families.

Jermaine Walker, director of the Cumberland County Engineering Department, said the plan still needs to be developed, but the shelter will have segmented pods for single men, single women, families and women with children.

Adams estimated that the shelter’s capacity will be for 70-75 people.

What is the cost?

Adams said the facility is expected to cost $15 million, which could change based on the topography and when construction amps up.

In September, a county spokesman said the county received a $1 million grant from the State Capital and Infrastructure Fund for the center and is investigating using grant money from the American Rescue Plan Act, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the federal Community Development Block Grants Program.

When will the shelter open?

Adams said the architectural design still needs to be finalized, and he expects it’ll be at least two years before the shelter opens.

What are the plans?

A Cumberland County news release stated that the county intends for the facility to operate “24 hours a day, seven days a week, and to provide residents with access to resources well beyond those of traditional homeless shelter."

“It’s not just to house somebody overnight,” Adams said Jan. 8. “It’s to change people’s lives, and that’s what we’re seeking to do with this.”

There are plans for the space to serve as an overnight shelter for those who want to get out of the weather, but it will also be used as temporary housing for those who “want to be moving back into the mainstream of society,” he said.

Adams said that with FTCC Education Center next door, there will be a program available for shelter residents to take classes and enhance their job skills.

Additionally, there have been discussions with Cape Fear Valley Health to bring in a clinic to serve the area, he said.

What safety measures will be in place?

Walker said the shelter will have locked doors with keyless entry and have a surveillance system like that used at the Cumberland County Courthouse.

Environmental and civil engineer Jimmy Kizer, hired by the county, said the shelter “should not be dangerous to the public” because most properties near it are already government-owned, while commercial properties are around the corner.

Adams said the county has plans to use Community Development funds for affordable housing in the area.

How are the city and county going to work together?

Adams said he expects collaboration with the city and Day Resource Center, to include transportation from the shelter to the center if needed.

“I think what we need in this particular community is a seamless kind of working relationship,” he said. “Neither one of us, neither the city or the county, is going to be able to solve this problem alone.”

County commission Vice Chair Toni Stewart, former executive director of The Hope Center, a nonprofit shelter in the city for homeless women, pressed county and city officials about addressing homelessness immediately after she was elected in 2020.

“I have been an advocate for the homeless in our midst and I will continue to push for more resources for this group of people who are often forgotten, misunderstood and marginalized,” Stewart said in the county news release.

Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Cumberland County homeless support center in Fayetteville: what to know