Over the last decade, the gap between household incomes and housing costs has grown wider and wider. As a result, more of our neighbors are in crisis every year. Some are homeless. Others are on the brink of homelessness. And they are right here in our community.
The Homeless to Hope Fund was started in 2016 by the non-profit Palmetto Project at the encouragement of Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg and representatives from the City of Charleston, North Charleston, Mount Pleasant and Summerville. Donations made to the Homeless to Hope Fund over the past five years have been used to help in emergency situations for people who are experiencing homelessness to get them into housing and help them to access programs that will assist them on the road to self-sufficiency through a network of service providers in the region. The Mayors’ Commission partnered with the Palmetto Project, a statewide nonprofit organization, to establish the Homeless to Hope Fund to accept and coordinate donations for initiatives that advance the mission of the Mayors’ Commission.
In 2021, the goal was broadened to launch the Hope Center Campaign to build a permanent resource center with access to resources for those experiencing homelessness and those who are at risk of becoming homeless. The Mayors’ Commission on Homelessness and Affordable Housing is proud to present plans for the Hope Center where our struggling neighbors will be able to secure the services they need at a single, convenient, permanent location——critical at this time in our region’s history.
The Hope Center will fulfill the purpose of the Mayors’ Commission to address homelessness in our community by:
- Creating a system to quickly rehouse those who become homeless.
- Providing our neighbors who are homeless and housing insecure the full range of supportive services they need.
- Adjacent to the Hope Center, affordable housing options will be built for individuals in the 30% – 80% range of average median income to create a holistic long-term approach.
We invite you to partner with us as we launch a $7 million campaign to fund the land purchase, construction and build out of this remarkable center. A generous donor gifted $1.695 million and the City of Charleston secured $1.925 million in government funding to purchase the land and to begin to make the Hope Center a reality.
Our goal is to raise the remaining $4.38 million of the $7 million campaign to realize our goals over the next 12 months to be able to make the new Center a reality.
You Can Help the Hope Center Rise from the Ground
Solving housing insecurity and homelessness is not as simple as finding a place for individuals and families to live. Individuals struggling with housing security need comprehensive services to recover.
