The City of Gastonia has donated $5,000 in partnership with Gaston County to open a cold weather shelter at the Salvation Army Facility in Gastonia. The Salvation Army is set to open the cold weather shelter on Friday, December 16.
“We are grateful for the hard work of the Homelessness Prevention Committee and financial support from the county to make this available to those who have no other shelter during cold weather,” said Gastonia Mayor Walker Reid.
The shelter is located inside the Salvation Army’s Center of Hope Shelter at 107 S. Broad Street in Gastonia. It will open for the night at 8 p.m. and exit time is 5 a.m. The shelter provides a warm place to sleep for those who have nowhere else to go. The shelter will continue to operate on nights where the temperature reaches 32 degrees or below.
“This is one piece of the work we are doing to help improve the lives of those in our community who have found themselves without a home,” said HPC Chair Dr. Gregory Grier. “Each of these people are valued and are not just numbers or statistics to us.”
Operating a consistent cold weather shelter in Gaston County has been one of the key priorities for the Homelessness Prevention Committee, which is chaired by Gaston County Social Services Special Projects Manager Dr. Gregory Grier. The committee is comprised of representatives from not only the county and the city, but also the United Way of Gaston County, the Salvation Army of Gaston and Lincoln Counties, Gaston College and several other agencies.
