Cape Fear Valley to partner with Cumberland County for another homeless shelter
Editor's note: The original story stated that the county commissioners had allocated $1 million to the project on an unspecified date. The date has since been added.
The county is in the early stages of constructing another homeless shelter, and the hospital wants to get involved.
“Homelessness is something that impacts us all,” said Mike Nagowski, chief executive officer of Cape Fear Valley Health System. “If there’s an opportunity to partner with and help the county, it’s something we’d like to do.”
Last year, Cumberland County contracted a gap analysis report, which stated that one of the community’s highest priorities was the need for more shelter beds, according to Assistant Manager Sally Shutt.
“At the end of the day, we don’t have enough beds for our homeless community,” Commissioner Toni Stewart said during the March 14 American Rescue Plan Committee meeting.
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The county already has more than 100 beds in Fayetteville for people experiencing homelessness: The Salvation Army has nearly 100, including 44 for "white flag" nights when the weather is particularly bad, and Manna Dream Center has 20 beds.
“Even with Manna and Salvation Army being open, we still have a problem,” Stewart said.
Commissioner Jimmy Keefe questioned the need for another homeless shelter, especially after the Manna Dream Center opened in February. “I am 100% behind it,” he said. “But we don’t need to build bigger than we need.”
“No matter what we build or renovate, I don’t think it’s going to be enough,” Stewart said “But we can’t do nothing.”
During the Fayetteville and Cumberland County Liaison Committee meeting on March 23, County Manager Amy Cannon said that the county needed to conduct a survey to determine the number of beds needed. She added that the county plans to move quickly since this project was a “top priority.”
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In September, county commissioners allocated $250,000 to hire someone to help plan the new shelter, including deciding the number of beds and the location, according to meeting minutes.
In January, the county sent out a request for someone to represent them during the selection process of a site for a homeless shelter. No one responded by mid-February. The county once again sent out a request at the end of February. The deadline for this request was last week.
‘One of those good projects’
While Cumberland County was having issues finding a representative, Cannon said the county began conversations with Cape Fear Valley Health System about a potential partnership.
“I’m really glad that our county leadership is doing a review and taking a hard look at the whole situation of our community,” Nagowski said. “This is one of those good projects.”
Nagowski added that the partnership is in its early stages, where there aren’t many details. There could be the coordination of care between the hospital and shelter for post-discharge treatment, telehealth appointments and insurance help.
There also could be cost-sharing. “Financial support is on the table,” Nagowski said.
Nagowski added that he wasn’t sure about the cost of the homeless shelter nor the timeline for its completion.
The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners previously allocated $1 million from a state grant for the renovation or construction of a new homeless shelter on March 7, according to Shutt.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Cape Fear Valley Health to partner with county for homeless shelter
