Years-in-the-making homeless center is finally under way in Raleigh

Ending homelessness is more than just finding a place for people to live. It's treating and helping the whole person.

That's the plan for the Oak City Outreach Center's permanent location, just a few miles outside downtown on South Wilmington Street.

Construction on the formerly abandoned warehouse next to the county's South Wilmington Men's Shelter has officially begun. The new center is expected to open in 2019.

"There is nothing more disheartening for families who are homeless then to have to tell your story over and over and over again," said Wake County Manager David Ellis. "This building, while it's just a building, will have folks in place that will help them tell their story once and get the services they need to help move them away from homelessness."

Local government and community leaders gathered Wednesday for the groundbreaking. This project is years in the making through a joint effort by the City of Raleigh, Wake County, the Raleigh/Wake Partnership to End and Prevent Homelessness, and Catholic Charities.

The center will serve as a one-stop place for the homeless, and its staff will see what services people qualify for and need. And it aims to make sure the more than 5,500 people facing homelessness in Wake County don't fall through the cracks.

On-site medical, mental health and substance abuse care are some of the things that will be offered, along with weekend meals for people experiencing homelessness and access to showers, a laundromat, computers and phones.

"We don't see differences," said Bishop Luis Rafael Zarama during the ceremony. "We don't see colors. This program, Oak City Cares, sees the faces. And serves the faces of people who are homeless. And sometimes it might be homeless of the roof. It might be homeless of the heart."

Those people, he said, need a place where they can be listened to, supported and cared for. That is the mission of this program and center.

The band When Grace Happens played during Wednesday's ceremony. It features musicians who've experienced homelessness during their lifetimes. One of those was Ernest McHenry, who went from being homeless to teaching others how to play instruments.

"It's a beautiful thing to be self-sufficient," he said.

Johnnie Thomas took photos of Wednesday's ceremony in hopes of one day starting a blog about his experiences of being homeless. He said he'd been living in transitional housing and had a job, but lost both after he went to be with his brother who had cancer in Virginia.

"So I had to start and rebuild again," he said,

Thomas said he wants the center to have an oversight board that will advocate for his community.

"Are we just trying to put a band-aid over a wound?" Thomas said. "Or are we trying to do what is necessary?"

"Housing is important," he added. "Job training is important. Medical is extremely important. But none of that matters if we don’t walk out of here with dignity and feeling like we were treated good and provided sound information."

Anna Johnson; 919-829-4807; @anna_m_johnson

This story was originally published June 20, 2018 at 6:13 PM with the headline "Years-in-the-making homeless center is finally under way in Raleigh."