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Just tap on one of these buttons and we'll help send you down the right path to get what you need

Or.. Continue to scroll down if you want to see the vast list of resources in Charlotte to help you

Charlotte Rescue Mission

 The Charlotte Rescue Mission has been in Charlotte for over 85 years. Once an addict has come through detox, their 120-day, regimented, rules-based system has a lofty and consistent 70% success rate. This is well above the national average.

They clearly spell out the requirements for entry into their program on THIS webpage. That page has a clear list of what ID documents to bring and who to call or email. Like every other resource in Charlotte, programs that work have a waiting list. So do these three things to make sure you get on that list. 

1. Gather together all the ID documents you need to bring to your first appointment. Get a Case Manager or a Peer Support worker on one of the other resources here on our site to help you gather those documents up.
2. Use the email address on their webpage to request an appointment. Of course you can call, but there's less likelihood that your request will fall through a crack if you send an email and get a confirmation.
3. Follow-up weekly by email or phone.

If you are lucky enough to gain entry there are a few things you need to know...

• This is a residential program lasting 120 days. 
• There's one program for men called Rebound and one program for women called Dove's Nest. They are at different locations
• The program is no charge, but it requires a very serious commitment from you.
• Because it's so successful, you might not get an appointment immediately. Keep trying and following up with them until you make it.
• This is a faith-based program and there is a spiritual component to it. You will be required to attend a religious service every Sunday.

Good luck!!

Camino

 Camino is one of the largest resource providers in Charlotte.

This is just one of the many buildings at their location and serves as their head office.
Camino is the resource provider whose native language is Spanish and the overwhelming majority of their clients are Hispanic. They are conveniently located just around the block from the University City Lynx Light Rail station. 

They offer case managers to help connect people to legal services. They also have a Workforce Development Program, called Arriba, that connects people to different educational and entrepreneurial opportunities. They have a church, a health center and clothing thrift store which are all on site.

They can also help you register with Mecklenburg's Coordinated Entry program, but that is not a requirement to get help from Camino. 

Their hours are 8a ~ 5p Monday to Friday. 704-596-5606

Block Love Charlotte

Block Love Charlotte opened their facility on North Graham for day-time services for the homeless on 4/20/24. Their new facility

is located at 2738 N. Graham St. They serve lunch there every weekday and still provide Sunday lunches at "The Wall" at 100 Montford Point Dr. They offer later hours (10a ~ 8p) during the week and special event times on the weekends. 

They have case managers that can help you with documents and life-changing plans. They have computers you can use to check your email and do job searches. They have a limited clothes pantry to help homeless people. Between the computers, the chairs and tables and welcoming staff; it's a great place to make new plans and further your journey toward exiting homelessness.

It's not necessary to have a "Shelter Card" to visit them.  However, they can set you up on Mecklenburg County's C.E. system if you wish. 

You can pay them a visit by taking the #22 bus from downtown and getting off at the Graham & Norris bus stop.

Starting the week of 5/1, Novant Health's mobile unit will be there every Thursday afternoon.

You can get there on the #22 bus that runs every 30 minutes up and down Graham Street.  Just get off at the Norris & Graham stop.

980-288-4895

Crisis Assistance Ministry

 Crisis Assistance Ministry is designed to prevent homelessness before it happens. If you're about to be evicted, they can provide

almost immediate short-term financial assistance to keep you in your apartment. While they are providing that assistance, they also provide you with a case manager to help you create a plan to get you back on your feet.

Start by going to their office at 500-A Spratt Street. It's open from 10a ~ 4p Monday to Friday. Since they are providing real money, you'll need to bring a number of documents with you. 

Here's a list:

• Picture ID of the person applying for financial assistance.
• Social Security documentation for all household members: Social Security (SS) card, documentation from the SS Administration, W2 form from an employer, paystub with a complete SS number, or W7 if applicable. If you are not registered with the SS Administration, you must provide some form of ID.
• Proof of household income over the past 30 days for all residents including earned and unearned income. Include all paystubs received by any household members during this period. If anyone receives unemployment, SSI, SSA, VA benefits, retirement pension, child support, disability payments, or income from any other source, you must provide verification of that income.
• Past due utility bills or disconnection notices in the name of an adult who resides at that address, if applying for utility assistance.
• Notice of an upcoming court date, court papers from a court date that has passed, or late notice from your landlord, if applying for rental assistance.
• Rental lease to verify your residence if you are seeking rent assistance.

Please print or copy documents that show complete name, mailing address, dates, and amounts. We cannot guarantee the return of original documents. Any missing items will require follow-up before your request can be considered.

Their phone # is 704-371-3001

How the process works once you come to their office...

Freedom Fighter Missionaries

 Freedom Fighter Missionaries fights / advocates for the formerly incarcerated. They have services and counseling to help find ID's, jobs, housing, job readiness courses and financial literacy training.

As of this writing, they have a waiting list for clients, but don't give up. Keep contacting them until a spot opens up for you.

Their number is 980-800-4845

Heal Charlotte Community Housing

 Heal Charlotte - Housing Stability Program

They have just opened up a new transitional housing program at the old Baymont Motel at 5415 Equipment Dr.

 You must be employed to enter the program and families are given preference over individuals. Based on circumstances, there are some rooms reserved for those who can't pay any rent at all. They are for a maximum of 90 days. There are 60 rooms where the rent is just $750/month and there's a 6 month maximum stay.  The program opened at the end of April and there's already a waiting list. 

You can click here to fill out a form for an opportunity to be accepted into this program.

Samaritan House

 The Samaritan House of Charlotte is a 12 bed facility designed

to provide recuperation from hospital stays for Charlotte's homeless population. Entry into the facility requires a referral from a hospital worker. The patient should be transported directly from the hospital to Samaritan House

They do not accept discharges from: Behavioral Health, jail, or detox facilities.

They do background checks and will not accept any patients with:

• Registered Sex Offence
• Assault on Females (multiple counts)
• Assault with Deadly Weapon
• Robbery (with a deadly weapon)
• Assault on law enforcement and/or medical personnel
• Child / Elderly Abuse
• Kidnapping / Hostage related
• Murder and/or Attempted Murder
• Active/outstanding warrants

Intake for new guests is Monday thru Friday 9:00am – 4:00pm for Samaritan House transport.   Hospital case-workers can call 704-333-0110. This is the website for Samaritan House.

A Roof Above Day Services

 A Roof Above - Day Services Center (HUB) & Resource Center

There are two buildings at the very end of North College St.  Here's where they are. Here's a map to their location. You can take either bus 11 or bus 21 from the Transportation Center. Or it's a 20-minute walk. 

Both of these buildings open their doors at 8:30a. This newer building is the Day Services Center. This is where they have basic services like showers, laundry, restrooms, outlets for your phone chargers, phones and mail. They serve lunch here Monday ~ Sunday, 11:15a~12:15p. (on Sunday, no other services are available) The side door, the one that faces up toward College Street, is where they do sign-ups for a permanent bed at the Tryon or Howard Levine Shelters. That sign-up is only open from 8:30a ~ 9:00a!!!

Visiting this facility can be the first step to obtaining emergency shelter. If you don't have a Coordinated Entry card, they can make one for you. The emergency shelters on N. Tryon are always full. You can sign up here for the lottery to gain access to shelter that night. Sign-up begins at 8:30a Monday to Saturday. For women or women & children, you can put your name on the daily list for access to the Salvation Army Center of Hope shelter.You can sign up to see a nurse here too. She's on site Tueday ~ Thursday. The nurse can help you with prescription assistance and over-the-counter meds.  Here is the daily schedule:

Day Services Center Daily Schedule
Time	Activity
by 8 a.m. Mon-Fri	Main campus gates open
	Open 9am~12:30 on weekends & holidays
8:30 a.m. Mon-Fri	Basic Services & Resource Center buildings open
8:30 a.m. Mon-Fri	Signups for morning services begin at DSC
	(showers, laundry, phones, and shelter lottery/waitlist signups)*
11:15a  -12:15p	Lunch
11:45 a.m.	Resource Center building closes
12:30 p.m.	Basic Services building closes
	(Bathroom available in Resource Center until 1:15)
1:30 p.m.	Basic Services & Resource Center buildings reopen for afternoon services
1:30 p.m.	Signups for afternoon services begin at DSC
	(showers, laundry, and phones)*
4:00 p.m.	Campus closed

*DSC services rely largely on volunteers, so times & services may change if necessary.*

The Resource Center. This building is directly across the street. They have counselors (case managers) there who can connect you to community resources. They can also help with bus passes for verified Work/medical appointments. Every 3rd Friday, the Department of Social Services is here to sign you up for foodstamps (SNAP) and Medicaid. Amara Wellness is here every Wednesday morning to help with Mental Health counseling. 

They also do Coordinated Entry (in case you can't make it out to the County center) in this building with three appointments in the morning and two is the afternoon. The morning sign-ups start at 8:30a so get here and line-up in the back of this building before 8a because those 3 available morning slots go fast!! The two slots in the afternoon open up at 1:30p so get in line (at the front of this building) before 1pm!!

If you are already enrolled in Coordinated Entry, they will assist you with a bus pass for these events. The start of a permanent job and for critical medical appointments. A member of their staff will verify these prior to giving you a pass.

 Another way they can help is something called "Diversion". If you're homeless and have a verifiable relative who can take you in, one of the counselors can arrange to put you on a bus with a one-way ticket to that person.

Lastly, you can get a free bus ride from here to one of their shelters on North Tryon or Statesville Avenue.

 

Coordinated Entry

 Coordinated Entry.. Unlike the other posts on this site, C.E. is not a "place" but a system. Here's why it's important for you know about it.  If you haven't already noticed, there are a lot of people in Charlotte who are homeless. And there are a lot of organizations who want to help you. So C.E. is a county-wide system to put you on a database to get into one of the many organizations set up to help you. They are all at capacity and have a waiting list to get in. C.E. helps those organizations see your needs and speeds up your entry into their care. You already know that once you become homeless, your life is full of chaos. C.E. is everybody's best effort to minimize that chaos. All these organizations use C.E. and can enter you into it:

• Salvation Army Center of Hope Shelter for Women and Children

(They basically insist on getting a referral from C.E. before admitting you!)

• Men’s Shelter of Charlotte - Roof Above
• Urban Ministry Center - Roof Above 
• Davidson Housing Coalition 
• Mecklenburg County, Veterans Services Office

Here's how it works. If you are homeless or about to be homeless, if at all possible, go out to one of these two county centers below in person. They are open 8a ~ 5p Monday to Friday. You can talk to someone in person there; face-to-face. Or.. you can call 704-284-9665 and a staff member will call you back within a day or two. Of course, you'd need a phone where they can call you back at any time.

The Valerie Woodard Center is at 3205 Freedom Dr. You can take CATS bus #8 from downtown. It runs every 30 minutes.  Here is a map of the location and route. The Woodard Center is huge and can be overwhelming. When you get there, go into Building A. It's the only one that faces Freedom Drive. 

Another location is the Ella Scarborough Center. You can take CATS bus #11 from downtown. It runs every 30 minutes. It's located near the corner of Eastway Drive and North Tryon Street.  There is only one building there.  Here is a map of the location and route. You'll know you're in the right place because you'll see artwork outside the building that's similar to the ones in the picture above.

The best reason to go to either of these centers is that they have many different services to help you and they are all in one place. For example they have services addressing healthcare, jobs, child support and food.

When you get to either of these locations, you will have to take a number and have a short wait to be called to a reception desk. When you get to a receptionist, tell them you are homeless and they will put you with a county "navigator" who  will enter your information in the Coordinated Entry database. After you're entered, they will make a "Clarity" ID card for you.

It'll come in handy at a variety of shelters in Charlotte. And they will help figure out your housing need and make the right connection for you. 

So why go to all this trouble? Once you get entered into C.E. you are definitely in the county's database.  This is so much better than just showing up at a shelter and hoping for the best.  If you need to go to a shelter, they will see that you're already in the database. That will speed up your processing there. Your information in C.E. is very, very confidential. It's not used by DSS, CMPD or ICE! So don't hesitate to get your name on that list!! To be considered homeless, you have to meet one of these conditions:

·  Living in a place not meant for human habitation, or

·  Living in emergency shelter (including domestic violence shelter), or

·  Living in transitional housing, or

·  Exiting an institution where they temporarily resided for up to 90 days (and were in a shelter or a place not meant for human habitation immediately prior to entering that institution), or

·  Likely to meet one of the above definitions within the next 72 hours.

One last thing; if you're a homeless veteran be sure to mention your service. There are some additional resources at VA South Charlotte for vets. 

VA Clinic

 VA Clinic - Charlotte

Many homeless vets miss out on the many services provided by the local VA Clinic. You will find this facility at 3506 Tyvola Blvd. They are open Monday to Friday 9a to 3p. (except on Federal holidays) But you might also want to know that they virtually visit Roof Above's Day Services Resource center every other Thursday from 9a ~ 11a.

Homeless vets are helped with: 
• Emergency Shelter
• Transitional and permanent housing
• VA Healthcare
• Mental healthcare
• Substance Abuse programs
• VA Benefits
• Replacement DD214's
• Case Mgmt Services
• Employment Services

They also have a department there for Healthcare for Homeless Vets (HCHV).  You can call them there at 704-329-1300 x32109. HCHV Residential programs provide the following services:
• Assistance with VA/SSA disability
• Vocational / Employment skills
• Sobriety maintenance
• Money management
• Life skills training
• Health care
• Education
• Nutritional needs
• Assistance with independent housing

They have a National Call Center for Homeless Vets that you can call 24/7.  It's 877-424-3838.

Mobile Showers

Project Outpour There is an organization called Project Outpour in Charlotte that has a free mobile shower service.  Of  course you can also get a shower at Roof Above's Daytime Service Center, downtown but these locations are scattered outside of downtown and might be more convenient. Several of the shower locations are near a library which you can use to check your email.

Here is what is not obvious. If you're interested, they can talk to you about shelter and food options around town. All you have to do is ask. And you don't have to have a shelter card (C.E. card) from the county. All you have to do is walk up to get their kind help. They even have a WiFi hotspot on their trailer so you can check your mail when you're there.

Here is the schedule from their website:

Amara Wellness

 Amara Wellness is not a shelter but it is a welcome resource for many in the homeless community.
Amara IS a clinic for both mental health and substance abuse. What sets them apart is their passion for helping the homeless community.  If you are referred to them via your case manager, or a detox program like the one at Anuvia, they can be a huge part of your journey out of homelessness. Don't fight it, try it!! Here is their referral number for your case manager: 704-777-0080. Here is a map to their location off of Sugar Creek at 5108 Reagan Dr.

Here are some of the services they offer:

• Basic Mental Health Services
• Medication Management
• Medication Administration
• Individual Therapy
• Group Therapy
• Comprehensive Clinical Assessment
• Diagnostic Assessment
• Enhanced Mental Health Services
• PSR (Psycho-social Rehabilitation)
• CST (Community Support Team)
• PSS (Peer Support Services)
• PB (Peer Bridger Services - Novant Health)
• Substance Abuse Services
• Substance Abuse Assessment
• Substance Abuse Outpatient
• Substance Abuse Intensive Outpatient (SAlOP)

Here is their website: Amara Wellness

Salvation Army Center of Hope

 Salvation Army Center of Hope..They are a great resource for single women and women and children. To get there, take the #21 CATS bus and get off at the corner of Tryon and Dalton streets.  Or take the #22 and get off at Graham and Dalton. Then walk west to 534 Spratt St.

Unlike most other emergency shelters, they require a “referral” from C.E. (Coordinated Entry) before accepting you in. So be SURE to go to C.E. first. You can also just stop by Salvation Army and talk to one of the C.E. people stationed there. But if there are no open beds, then you'll still have to call C.E. back every day until one opens up. Tap this link for all the info on C.E. Of course you can call C.E., but it can take 2 days to get a return call. C.E. maintains a list of people who have called or dropped by to see if a bed has become available. *

Once you finally get the referral/clearance from C.E. you will get into Salvation Army’s program immediately. Also, Salvation Army has some space for fathers with children but there’s a wait for that space too.   In emergency weather conditions, (freezing temperatures) they can accept “walk-up” residents to stay on mats in their dining area for one night only.

Once you are in their program, they will provide three meals a day and you will have access to a case manager but that can take a month at this point. If you've tapped on the case manager link then you know that a case manager can be your key to ending homelessness.

* C.E. can't keep a wait list because things change so much for everyone on a daily basis. But... they try to be compassionate and balance a first come first served approach with the severity of need.  So.. if you really need to get into a shelter, call or visit someone at C.E. daily.

 Safe Alliance is a shelter just for domestic violence victims or people under the imminent threat of domestic violence. If you find yourself homeless because you had to flee or need to flee a potentially violent home, then they are for you.

 Unlike traditional shelters, you get into their system by phone. There's no way to just show up. Unlike many traditional shelters, they will answer the phone and provide compassionate support when you call 980.771.4673.  You don't have to worry about trying to get a call back. They have trained individuals who man their phones around the clock! 

The people who answer the phone are trained/certified to understand your situation and do what's best for the safety of you and your children. If you and your family need to flee, they will keep you together. There's no waiting period to see if you can get into their shelter. You will know where you stand when you make that call. Their shelters stay at or above capacity, but they will find a way to squeeze you in.

If you do get into their shelter, you will be assigned an "advocate". That person will discuss your situation in depth and calmly help you plan your next moves. (longer term housing, jobs or job training, transportation options, etc) You can stay in their program for up to 90 days. They have a state-of-the-art facility which includes:

• Counseling
• Substance use services
• Support groups for adults and children 
• Children's program
• Individual advocacy
• Life skills and career planning services
• Cafeteria and age-appropriate gathering spaces for children, teens, and adults
• Basic needs (three daily meals, clothing referrals, personal care items, and toiletries)

Once you're in their program, they have some rules. Here are some of the major ones:

1. no drugs
2. no disclosing the location of the shelter to anyone
3. no trouble with other people in the shelter

Roof Above Transitional Shelters

Roof Above's Transitional Men's Shelters

The Howard Levine Shelter is at 3506 Statesville Rd. The other shelter is at 1210 N. Tryon. It's just called the Tryon Center. Together these shelters contain over 419 beds. 

They differ from the 3510 Emergency shelter in a previous post. These are shelters where you will have a reserved bed until you leave the program; whether it's for a couple of days or a month.    So, now you're ready to change your life; how do you get started? 

Because of the success of this program there is more demand than the shelters can handle. But everybody gets a shot at it.  As men exit this program new slots open up daily and they are awarded to entrants into this program based on a simple daily lottery. You can do the daily sign-up for the lottery 3 different ways:

1. Go to the 1210 N. Tryon shelter. Get there on the #11 or #21 bus. Here's a map.  Sign-ups are from 7:30a~10a Monday ~ Friday.
2. Go to the Resource Center at Roof Above Day services at 945 N. College St.  Get there on the #11 or #21 Here's a map. Sign-ups are from 8:30a~9:30a.
3. Call 704-334-3187x132 between 7:30~10a. 

When you sign up, they will ask you for your phone# because that's how they notify the winners. (phone or e-mail). It helps to have a phone or access to email before you start this journey but if you don't have one you can just check in with the Day Services Center every day to see if you've made the list. Beds open up at the shelter at the rate of 2 ~ 10 a day. So, it's in your best interest to keep trying. Enter that lottery every day until you get in!

Once you're in one of these two shelters, they will assign a "housing navigator" and they will help you plan your way out of homelessness with a custom plan that fits your situation best. (finding training, jobs, transportation) In addition, you'll have shelter 24/7 and 3 meals a day.

There are some expectations for shelter residents (neighbors).

• no verbal / physical assaults on other neighbors
• no weapons
• no smoking
• must be back into the shelter by check-in time (4:30~9p)

* or individuals identifying as male