The Day Shelter
Need shelter?
Call 910.763.4424 x102
or come to 811 Martin Street, Wilmington, NC 28401.
Our staff will welcome you and help you take the next step.
The Day Shelter is a safe haven especially for unhoused individuals reluctant to access overnight shelter out of fear, mistrust, or anxiety. As a result, it largely serves the most fragile persons, those with mental health challenges and/or physical disabilities and those who have been homeless the longest or experienced multiple episodes of instability over a period of years. In addition to shielding people from severe weather and other dangers that come with staying outside, the Day Shelter provides many of the basic life necessities that we take for granted when we have a home of our own: access to bathrooms, showers, toiletries, and clean clothing; phone and mail service; assistance obtaining photo identification; on-site medical care; and referral to needed community resources such as mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, employment programs and others.
The Day Shelter succeeds in drawing into services even those with severe and persistent mental illness because it is low-barrier and non-threatening in design. Building trust with these individuals over time through small but positive interactions often results in their eventual willingness to access additional needed services. Someone initially seeking just a shower or hot meal may, for example, eventually feel comfortable and trusting enough to take advantage of the Medical Clinic’s offerings or agree to begin working with a Case Manager/Housing Specialist on an individualized plan for becoming housed again. In recent years Good Shepherd Center’s Rapid Rehousing team has become increasingly effective in helping even those who’ve never stayed a single night with us—opting to sleep in a car or tent instead—move from that precarious situation back to the safety and stability of an apartment again. For many in our community, the Day Shelter is a front door into needed services—and increasingly the first step in a journey that ends with housing.
“I will always remember the way the staff spoke to me with respect, even on my hardest days.”
Former Guest