Commissioners vote to fund homeless shelter

Published 6:16 pm Tuesday, November 10, 2015

The Zion Shelter and Kitchen was given a reprieve Monday when the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners agreed to give $12,500 to prevent its imminent closure.

Commissioner Robert Belcher brought the issue to the board, explaining he had studied the shelter’s finances and found that in fiscal year 2014, it had receipts of $42,000 and expenditures of $54,000, as well as a rapidly dropping fund balance. He requested commissioners make up the deficit with a one-time appropriation of $12,500.

“Hopefully, this will carry them through the winter and the coldest months of the year,” Belcher said.

Commissioner Ed Booth said he supported funding the shelter, partially because the county would end up paying a greater cost if its doors closed.

“If they close the shelter, we’re going to pay that $65 a day in the jail,” Booth said, implying jail would be the only option of shelter for the homeless. “This is a wise thing to do with the winter months coming.”

Shelter Manager Jonathan Gaskins was present for the discussion, which quickly narrowed to who should be financially supporting the facility. When questioned as to who made up Zion’s population, Gaskins told commissioners nearly all of their clients were men from Beaufort County, or had just been released from behavioral health facilities in neighboring Pitt County, many of whom have drug or alcohol addictions.

“Is this a mental health issue?” asked Commissioner Hood Richardson. “As Christians, we should be looking after the poor and the oppressed. This is not a taxpayer problem. The churches should be taking care of this.”

Commissioner Frankie Waters had also researched Zion Shelter’s funding, nearly all of which comes from Beaufort County United Way, the City of Washington and church donations, he told the board. He said Zion’s issue was not mismanagement of funds, but simply a lack of funding — funding that should be provided by other sources.

“I don’t want these people to be out on the street, but I agree with Hood — the responsibility resides in the community,” Waters said.

Belcher’s motion passed, 6-1, and Harlan McKendrick, Zion Shelter and Kitchen’s longtime board treasurer, was asked to return during the county’s budgeting process in the spring to request any funding for following fiscal year.

Zion Shelter and Kitchen, located in the basement of Metropolitan A.M.E. Zion Church in Washington, is the county’s only homeless shelter, serving a maximum of 12 men per night. The kitchen also serves free lunch Mondays through Fridays to anyone in need. There is currently no women’s shelter in the county.