When City Road Methodist Church merged with First United Methodist Church, it didn’t take long for someone to figure out that the now-vacant facility would make a perfect permanent location for the emergency men’s homeless shelter.

Community Partners of Hope, Inc. has overseen the shelter during the winter months out of the basement of First Presbyterian Church for 14 years, but the hope has long been to expand the shelter to operate all year long and to provide additional services for those who need help.

It’s a dream that Delthine Watson has had for some time, and that dream is coming closer and closer to becoming a reality.

Watson is Community Partners of Hope’s community network specialist and she said on Wednesday’s TownTalk that there will be an open house next weekend at the former church site to share the dream and vision to transform the building from a church sanctuary to a sanctuary of a different sort.

Board members, staff and others will be on hand Saturday, June 17 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon and again on Sunday, June 18, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. to answer questions about the transformation.

They’ve already chosen a name – City Road Center for Hope – Watson said. Now all they need is the money to make the necessary upgrades.

“We need $350,000 now – or soon – because we have to redo the building to make it a shelter,” Watson said. People already have been kind to offer services at low cost or no cost, but there’s still the cost of materials to consider, she said.

She hopes that all the work will be completed over the summer so the shelter will be able to open October 1 in its new location.

“If you’re homeless, come April 1, you’re still homeless,” Watson said, referring to the date that the shelter has closed in years past. She said she wants the shelter to be open 365 days a year, “to give our men some place to go. But while they’re there, we also want to provide them more services,” she said.

Whether it’s job skills or access to mental health services, the City Road Center for Hope is a spot where men experiencing homelessness can come for a range of services, from a meal and a warm bed and a clean change of clothes.

“That is our goal,” she said.

This is the only men’s shelter in the four-county area, Watson said, and they’ve accommodated men from as far away as Durham, Raleigh and southside Virginia.

“The need is very great,” she said. The City of Henderson is supporting the new shelter with $50,000, which is a great start. Watson hopes other community partners will step up and contribute as well.

Watson said the upcoming open house dates are for anyone with a desire to learn more about homelessness in Henderson and how the proposed shelter will serve that population.

“We can talk about it,” she said, “but come see it with your own eyes – come and visit and see.”

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