Salvation Army to close homeless shelter

The Salvation Army of Gaston and Lincoln counties is closing its emergency homeless shelter and will instead focus its efforts on a new homelessness prevention program.

The transition will be gradual, according to a media release.

The last day the Salvation Army will accept new shelter residents will be July 15, and the last day to provide emergency shelter for the remaining residents will be Aug. 31. During this time, shelter staff will work with residents to develop transition plans and explore housing options, a press release said.

The facility, located at 107 S. Broad St., Gastonia, will continue offering the drive-through food pantry, case management, emergency financial assistance and clothing closet programs.

Dwayne Burks, director of The Gateway Gaston, said that the closure of the shelter will make it harder for homeless people, especially families, to find shelter.

"The immediate impact is that we lose 65 potential crisis beds every night, four family rooms included in that. So families continue to find it harder. There are no other options in Gaston except some by application program type things, primarily for women and children," Burks said. "We're going to see more people on the street without a doubt."

Gaston County has no other homeless shelter, which will force those who work with homeless people to send them to Charlotte or Lincolnton, if they can even get there, Burks added.

"Getting to Lincolnton is tantamount to us getting to Texas today. For most unhoused people, it's not an option," Burks said.

He said that he hopes the shelter's closure makes elected leaders more aware of the crisis.

"I hope this brings the awareness of the problem to fuller attention, and I hope that our leadership, our elected, our city managers, our county managers, our faith community leaders, our nonprofit leaders, will finally band together and do something that makes good sense here," he said. "Let's get a proper shelter for overnight and day for this community. We're too big of a community, we're too good of a community, to let this happen. It is embarrassing and shameful that this is happening in our county."

The decision to close the Salvation Army's shelter and transition to a homelessness prevention program was driven by the organization's volunteer-led advisory board and informed by a study conducted in 2023, which found that the emergency shelter program "is not the most cost-effective, transformative way to serve those experiencing temporary homelessness," the press release said.

“The Advisory Board spent more than half a year evaluating the Mission Planning Study, ensuring our programs are compassionate, sustainable, cost-effective, and transformative,” said Deon Lewis, Advisory Board Chair for The Salvation Army. “The emergency shelter has been a tremendous community asset throughout its 20 years of service, but we must acknowledge that solutions have changed and evolved over the past two decades. We firmly believe that shifting from an emergency shelter program to a homelessness prevention initiative will be pivotal in addressing homelessness in our community and doing the most good.”

The Salvation Army and Advisory Board are examining successful, comprehensive social services models from over 60 centers across North and South Carolina and drafting a plan focusing on homelessness prevention and Rapid Rehousing that aligns with the needs of individuals in Gaston and Lincoln counties. The new model will engage community volunteerism and collaboration throughout the for-profit and non-profit space. The Salvation Army believes the community is the foundation for success, the press release said.

Jon Montgomery, who has been homeless intermittently for several years, said that without the Salvation Army shelter, there will be no help for people who are homeless in Gaston County.

"We got time before winter, but I still think that is a tragedy potentially in the making. A lot of people may die out here, but there is still a fair amount of time before winter, maybe somebody in the community … will step up and figure out a solution," he said.

Montgomery, who most recently worked at Dollar General, making around $400 a week, said that even with the shelter, life on the street is a constant struggle.

"It's kind of destroyed a lot of my hope for a future. It's hard to see a hope at times; it's hard to see a future at times. It's hard to see a life outside of this at times," he said.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Salvation Army to close homeless shelter