Rachel Keith: Aaleah, before we get to the meeting, catch folks up on what’s been going on with the Living Hope Day Center.
Aaleah McConnell: Of course, Rachel. For about three years, the Day Center operated out of the First Baptist Church, offering food, showers, laundry, and a safe place for unhoused and other vulnerable people to go. It helped many people, and many downtown stakeholders sang its praises. But with the church undergoing renovations, they had to leave in July. Day Center founders, Tony Perez and his wife Christine, started looking for a new location.
RK: Now they’re looking at the former Sorrow Drowner bar, near 10th and Dock streets. And they’ve been fundraising to buy the building, raising about $359,000 of their $500,000 goal. This week, they held a meeting to share their plans with neighbors.
AM: That’s right, a lot of residents were worried about the potential risks, especially because it’s a no-barrier shelter, meaning there are no background checks or sobriety requirements.
Some were clearly upset; at one point, several people walked out because they felt as if there was a lack of transparency from the inception of the meeting – and that many operational and safety questions weren’t thoroughly answered.
And it’s easy to write these folks off as NIMBYs (Not In My Backyard), but at that meeting, I could hear what’s at the heart of their grievances. They say they don’t have an issue with people who have no home and who rely on day shelters to meet their most basic needs, but these homeowners want Living Hope to guarantee safety, transparency, and that their neighborhood will maintain its character.
RK: What were some of those concerns over safety?
AM: Attendees at the meeting worried people at the shelter wouldn’t be properly managed, and that there wouldn’t be measures to prevent property crimes, like trespassing, vandalism, theft - which some residents said are already issue in the area.
Living Hope staff said most of their clients aren’t criminals and are often victims of crime. They said the shelter will have security cameras, strictly enforced rules, and won’t allow clients to line up prior to opening.
We also heard concerns, including from NHCS Superintendent Dr. Chris Barnes, about the shelter’s proximity to three different school campuses.
RK: What were some of those other concerns? We also heard about transparency and neighborhood character.
AM: That’s right. One resident told WHQR that most residents in that area were not made aware of the meeting, let alone Living Hope’s intention to move in.
We also heard concerns about not wanting the media at the meeting, and a failure to engage with the community, particularly the Black community. We also heard that residents wanted more clarity on things like hours of operation.
AM: There are some points that they made as far as their neighborhood character goes.
The residents said that about 13 years ago, they started a neighborhood crime watch. Since then, crime has decreased in their area, and they're very proud of that —they mentioned it multiple times during the meeting.
Another neighbor pointed out that the tax property value for the former Sorrow Drowner building is now listed at $1.56 million — that's the appraised value according to New Hanover County's Property Assessment.
And he asked an important question: Could Living Hope sustainably move into the neighborhood?
Living Hope does rely 35.2% on grants and almost 50% on in-kind donations. So they questioned whether Living Hope would be financially stable once it moved in. Otherwise, that would introduce more uncertainty to the area.
Overall, people said that they're not opposed to Living Hope moving in to help those who are unhoused, but residents just want them to be good neighbors when they do.
Christine Perez said they had no other options, and Tony, her husband, said this location checked off a lot of boxes for them. It's close to downtown; it has the right amount of space, bathrooms, office space, and an area to serve food.
RK: And you were telling me residents voiced some of these same concerns at the Wilmington City Council meeting on Tuesday.
AM: That’s right – officials basically said the city can’t really intervene here; the Day Center doesn’t need permission to open at this location.
Council member David Joyner clarified that the City of Wilmington cannot do anything to directly stop the purchase.
As Director of Planning and Development, Linda Painter explained, the day center is classified as a community center under city code, meaning Living Hope is permitted by right use of the property — so essentially they wouldn’t have to submit a rezoning request to set up shop or be required to have a public hearing.
But Painter and neighborhood residents also say there is a discrepancy between what’s considered a traditional community center and a day shelter. Painter says her department has been considering amending that code.
One thing residents can do, Painter says, is file an appeal with the board of adjustment or Superior Court over the city's interpretation of a community center in its code. According to her, appeals to the board of adjustment require a public hearing.
RK: Living Hope CEO Tony Perez said they're still in talks with the current property owner, Tempest Holdings LLC, noting there's no closing date on the property as of yet, but if everything goes well with inspections and repairs are made, the nonprofit may be ready to move in by late November.
AM: But that said, Living Hope wants to do a better job communicating with their neighbors and answering questions going forward. In a Facebook post, they acknowledged they could have handled the meeting better and said they remain committed to working with their neighbors.
