01/25/2026
BE SAFE BE SMART OUTSIDE TODAY!! The winter storm is here!
With over 2,500 individuals experiencing homelessness in Charlotte, winter storms reveal a painful truth: many of our neighbors have nowhere safe to go.
Right now, someone is sleeping in their car.
Someone is choosing between freezing temperatures and an unsafe environment.
And many are asking a simple but urgent question: Where can people gather to stay warm?
In response to the forecasted winter storm, Mecklenburg County has activated an emergency winter shelter:
📍 Grady Cole Center
310 North Kings Drive, Charlotte, NC 28204
🕖 Opens Saturday, January 24 at 7:00 PM
The shelter is open to anyone in need of a warm, safe place and is intended especially for:
• Families at risk of losing power
• Seniors
• Individuals with medical needs
• Households with infants or young children
The shelter is operated by the American Red Cross, with heat, power, basic meals, medical screenings, and security provided.
While we are grateful for emergency responses like this, we are also deeply saddened by the lack of sustained reinvestment in long-term, community-based solutions that could better support people before, during, and after crises like this. Storms don’t create the problem — they expose the gaps.
Please keep our houseless neighbors in your prayers tonight.
Share this information. Check on someone. Advocate for solutions that last.
Healing a city requires more than emergency shelter — it requires commitment, compassion, and action year-round.
