Salvation Army opens new emergency shelter in Wilmington

CAPE FEAR, NC (WWAY) — A new emergency shelter in Wilmington officially opened Wednesday after more than a decade of planning and fundraising.

The Salvation Army of Cape Fear held a ribbon cutting for its new Center of Hope, a 20,500-square-foot facility located on William Booth Drive, a newly constructed road just off North 30th Street.

The facility offers 75 beds for men, women and children — including seven private family suites — and will serve people from New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender, Columbus and Bladen counties. The Center of Hope includes a full-service kitchen, laundry facilities and offers one community meal per day. It will also house expanded social services, including a food pantry, rental and utility assistance, and life skills programs designed to help residents transition to stable housing.

Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo spoke at the ribbon cutting, highlighting the organization’s past role in times of crisis, including Hurricane Florence and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’ve been needing this facility back for some time now,” Saffo said.
“We leaned on the Salvation Army a lot in that old facility you folks had there, and you saved a lot of lives. You helped us in a lot of different ways.”

Tim McKinney, shelter director for the Center of Hope, said the family suites were designed with privacy and safety in mind.

“Whether it’s a single mother, or a full family I really love the idea of having ownership and feeling safe in their spot,” McKinney said.

The shelter is also built to serve as an emergency disaster shelter during hurricanes or other events requiring mass housing.

Ken Morris, commanding officer for the Salvation Army Cape Fear, said the space is flexible enough to reduce pressure on other shelters.

“The dining room will basically be turned into cots and even in the hallways and what not to serve as an emergency shelter and will take some stress off of some of the schools because many times the schools turn into shelters. We can open up before and stay open a little bit longer,” Morris said.

Morris added that residents will move in gradually as the organization adjusts to the new facility.

“We’ll bring in a few people at a time. Maybe 20, then slowly build up to maximum capacity. But yeah, it will be a staggered move-in,” he said.

The new shelter sits on a road built specifically for the project. Morris said William Booth Drive is now owned and maintained by the city and will soon be serviced by Wave Transit.

According to Morris, all staff have already been hired and trained. The center is currently operating under a temporary occupancy license and is expected to fully open by mid-July.