Living Hope Day Center extends hours to serve homeless during extreme heat

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — As temperatures rise and the New Hanover County Downtown Public Library prepares to close temporarily, the Warming Shelter ILM is partnering with Living Hope Day Center to expand its hours to provide a safe, cool refuge for people experiencing homelessness.

The day center, located at 411 Market Street in downtown Wilmington, will now operate from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays through the month of August. Previously, it had been open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on those days.

According to Director Tony Perez, the center provides a cool space with access to bathrooms, meals, and computers while connecting guest to mental health care, housing placement, and social services.

“For the folks who live outside, being out in the heat is not only uncomfortable but often times really dangerous, so we needed to come up with a way to expand our hours so that we weren’t letting people out in the middle of the heat and just give them a safe place to be,” Perez said.

Christopher Herbst battles homelessness and appreciates the extension.

“We just want to be able to go someplace where we can sit down, relax, chill out for a few hours and stay cool and dry,” Herbst shared.

Kelly Peterson volunteers at the cooling shelter and encourages others to help.

“These people have nowhere else to go, they’re trying to live their daily lives and they’re just trying to survive and it’s hot outside and not many places are welcoming to them. Anything we can do to make their already hard crisis filled lives easier is absolutely something we should be doing,” Peterson stated.

To accommodate the extended hours, the center is seeking additional volunteer and financial support. Volunteers can sign up at this link, and donations can be made here.