Jason McCoy became homeless because of a health crisis.
"Unfortunately, the roommate that I had freaked out one night when I had a seizure and called me at the hospital and said, 'You can't be my roommate anymore, because I'm afraid you'll injure me having a seizure,'" he explained. "So I literally had no warning, no time to, you know, make any kind of plans or contingency, and just ended up on the street.”
Six months into his homelessness, with his health declining, he found the Day Center, and found a community. But the founder, Christine Perez, was really worried about him: sleeping on a porch doesn't help a person's health issues.
"We spent a couple of years just getting to know each other and just building a relationship," Christine said. "But just one day, I just was like, I really felt the Holy Spirit tell me the time's up. Like he needs to be off the streets.
Christine says “walking with” the people they serve is key to building rapport. They consider the homeless their community — their friends.
Jason said they call everyone at the center a friend.
“This is our friend, and that's more humanizing, he said. "Christine gives that a lot of love. She will go around individually, give a hug and welcome each person that's come in there, because they've gotten to know each person.”
The day after she felt called by the Holy Spirit, she pulled Jason into her office and told him they couldn’t let him stay out in the streets with his health problems. Jason remembers it well.
"That day that they called me in the office, and were like, 'we don't like it. You're going somewhere, and we've already got it arranged.' So I said, Okay,'" he said.
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They used their connections and got him a bed at the Salvation Army. And within the next few months, he’s hopeful that he’ll get a permanent placement at Good Shepherd Center’s new apartment, The Starling, which is about to start leasing up in May.
Jason, who’s a chef at a restaurant downtown, cannot wait to cook in his new home kitchen. He knows what he’ll make first: "Probably a lasagna and then share it with some people. Because I'll make a big pan, and I don't want any of it to go to waste.”
Jason says the Day Center helped keep him sane. It’s a respite from the horrible conditions on the street. A place where someone can sit or lay down without harassment, relax with a cup of coffee, charge their phone, and receive a good hug.
Christine thinks that’s key: love paves the way for case management, because it builds trust.
"They're coming to a save place, they’re getting loved and cared for and fed spiritually and mentally and physically. And so I think that that is something that we need as a city to recognize," she said.
The Wilmington Police Department says the Day Center makes a real difference. Downtown cops, like Lt. Peter Oehl, don’t want to see it go away.
"When the day center opened, when it was open Monday through Wednesday, you know? And I'd come into work and I would say, 'where is everybody?' And then I would go up the street and I'd say, 'Oh, they're at the Day Center.' That's awesome," he said.
In fact, Lt. Oehl wants to see it expand: "A Monday through Friday would be huge for just for that population, and for downtown, for businesses, for people who are walking and running.”
The Day Center did a lot in 2025: they gave out nearly 200 sleeping bags, helped people get 54 IDs, which helps with housing elligibility. They placed 25 people in shelter, another 31 in permanent housing. And 48 were able to get rehab.
But to Christine, their success is measured in more than just the numbers. While they can count the loads of laundry, the connections to assistance programs, and other things, it’s really walking alongside these friends and watching them grow. To her, that’s what makes a difference: helping them get ready to take a step towards housing.
“I believe that if our door is closed they’re going to be on the streets, downtown with a lot of mental health and no services. our town is going to have a huge eye-opener," she said.
Recently, the Day Center ran into a funding crisis when their grant from The Endowment ran out. They need financial support, and they need a new place to relocate the shelter at the end of this year. They’re hoping the Wilmington community steps up to support their work.
The Day Center is seeking new space as the church they operate out of is set to undergo a major renovation in 2027. They want to stay downtown, after polling among their residents showed a strong and clear preference for the operation to stay close to where it is now. Those survey results are available below.
