Fayetteville day center: 50 people a day though the doors; serves homeless

Richard McCloud contentedly puffed on a cigarette outside the Day Resource Center on King Street, off U.S. 301 on Wednesday. It was around lunch, served daily to the homeless and anyone who comes by at the center.

McCloud, who has been unhoused since 1993, comes by the resource center for lunch, to shower and to do laundry.

I asked him what did he do about a shower before the center.

“At the abandoned building where I stay at,” he says, “I would just get me a bucket and water and do my thing.”

McCloud says he can be skeptical of plans and schemes he has heard by different organizations and government officials over the years to help the homeless. He has seen them all — including an effort many years ago, he says, to end homelessness in the county within a decade.

“Nothing’s been done, or the plan didn’t work, whatever, whatever,” McCloud says. “We’re still in the same boat.”

From the time he first heard about the center, until it opened a little less than 90 days ago, he describes his attitude as: “We’ll see. A lot of things sound good.”

He says now, he has been impressed with the Day Resource Center and sees great potential for it.

“This is almost like a clearinghouse, so to speak,” he says.

McCloud said the center made it easy to access services. He signs in, he says, marks what services he will need that day and waits until slot comes up.

He said the center is a resource itself that points to other resources: “It’s like a one-stop shop type of deal. That’s a good thing.”

His one complaint is that two of four shower stalls are already closed for maintenance.

'The numbers have exceeded ... expectations'

Shelley Hudson, director of Cumberland HealthNET, which operates the center, said one challenge at the site can be addressing “facility building related matters” as they arise, such as issues with the showers.

But overall, if the daily flow of people into the Day Resource Center is an indicator, many people are embracing the idea of it.

“On average, 50 people visit The Day Resource Center daily,” wrote Hudson in answer to several questions over email.

She said from Oct 1-20, “302 showers were provided, 239 loads of laundry completed and 2,239 lunches served.

“The numbers have exceeded Cumberland HealthNET’s expectations for a start up of the Day Resource Center.”

Hudson said the center currently offers primary care services, SNAP benefits enrollments and/or updates, peer support, veteran services and coordinated entry, which helps people transition from the streets.

The center is always looking for partners, she said.

Center staff are presently seeking agencies that will provide dental evaluation; housing case management; mental health services; STD testing; and on-site vaccination services.

“We are also looking for volunteers to assist with daily operations,” Hudson said.

People interested in getting involved should contact Dr. Leanne Scalli, programs and services manager, at lscalli@chnnc.org.

Hudson said many positive things were happening at the center.

“Several clients volunteer their time to assist with the daily activities such as cleaning and preparation of needed supplies for the laundry area,” she said. “In addition, we have one individual that comes every day to assist with the showers and laundry services. He has been a real asset to the Cumberland HealthNET team!”

Outlets and access

One thing spun up on social media I saw recently was about the locks and covers placed over the center’s outside electrical outlets.

Mind you: The day center has a charging station for mobile devices available during center hours.

But some say to block access to outdoor outlets when the center is closed is unfair to homeless people who already do not have many places to charge their devices at night.

Loren Bymer, city spokesman, said the outside outlets were not intended for use for overnight phone charging.

”The use of commercial outside receptacles at the Day Resource Center for personal purposes raises significant safety concerns due to the fact no one will be able to regulate what is plugged into the system,” he said in a statement. ”Designated charging stations are provided for free during normal operating hours inside the Day Resource Center. The potential for overloading circuits pose risks of damage to electrical systems and even potential for a fire at the facility.”

He added that loitering is prohibited at the center after hours ”as it poses a significant safety risk to our unhoused and other residents.”

The labor tree

McCloud has heard the grumbling by some in the community over the outdoor outlets. He dismisses it.

He points to all the charging options just inside the day center doors — not just the station but more outlets along the walls — as long as you come while the center is open.

He has long ago concluded that some people just want to complain. It is something else he has noticed in his time on the streets, he says.

What he offers the center instead is a suggestion. He would like the center to have its version of the labor tree — a tree he says, off Moore Street, that, way back when the unemployment office was nearby, people would gather there at that tree or drive by that tree, looking for work or hiring for work.

Life is about choices and their consequences — the good consequences and the bad ones, McCloud continues. He had made his choices, he says, and he later referenced a past incarceration.

But the labor tree, he says, would be great for those making that choice to make something in the world.

“If they were to incorporate that,” he says, “that’s another good resource that could be utilized here.”

Myron B. Pitts can be reached at mpitts@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3559.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville day center for homeless early hit; challenges loom