07/01/2026
People are asking if The Warming Shelter will be hosting a Cooling Shelter? My current line of thinking...
As the director of The Warming Shelter ILM, our specialty is overnight, cold-weather sheltering and the logistics for daytime, hot-weathering sheltering create a whole new project that needs to be created. Much of the project would be very similar to how the WS functions, but there are other things to consider:
My availability - There’s my bandwidth of being able to provide directive oversight as my personal work schedule as pastor of Hope Recovery UMC, along with the other year-round work I do in the homeless community (including The REAL Homeless Herald of ILM, NC) currently has no available hours or funding to cover this additional work assignment.
The cost - How do we pay for this project (food, supplies, etc)?
Volunteers - Will there be enough daytime volunteers to help during daytime hours?
Location? - Grace United Methodist Church is sited as a potential location since they already host the WS, but to be fair, is Grace open to hosting a summer shelter too? Is there another location? Church use depends on calendar availability, summer programming (often children/youth programs meet more during the summer and hosting unhoused individuals comes with the reality that some of them are on the s*x offender registry, which puts both groups at opposition for being in the same location at the same time), the willingness of churches to open their spaces for this type of project and the internal culture of churches - not every church is build for homeless ministry.
Let's be Honest - The Warming Shelter project puts a lot of unseen pressure on Grace’s building (plumbing, power, increased trash, safety) and the truth is that we absolutely try their patience with a project of our size & intensity. We are constantly working on the relationship between the Warming Shelter’s leadership (under the direction of Recovery UMC) and with Grace UMC as our host site. Even with both churches being UMC churches, who exist under shared values, we find that our unique church cultures find us working hard to continuously cultivate and grow a working relationship. As we get ready to go into winter number four of doing the Warming Shelter project together, we are still figuring things out. It’s long, slow work. A lot is happening behind the scenes that people would never see.
Collaboration - For the Warming Shelter, collaboration is now imbedded in our DNA. Cooling shelter is not a project that Warming Shelter can or will do alone. Cooling shelter needs multiple partners with day-time availability, all-in commitment and buy-in from both leadership and congregational support, a willingness to "GO" and live by the weather forecast for several months, resources (financial and supplies) and the compassion that is required for work of this type. Mission minded and mission-driven churches who see that "church" exists outside the walls of buildings and put feet on the streets - people who deeply care about our homeless community of ILM.
Funding - We already do cold-weathering sheltering strictly on the generous donations from the ILM community with ZERO financial support for city/county. We don't have the money to pivot designated Warming Shelter funding for a cooling shelter project at this moment. We have never applied for Endowment funds for the WS (and we haven't seen the Endowment support homeless projects as of late). We don’t get any state or federal $$$ either. Let me make mention and say "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" to everyone who continues to support and bless the WS with your gifts, donations and money! THANK YOU!
The REALITY - For a cooling shelter, we would need lots of committed and serious partners to help with labor, costs, etc. - that's just to run the day to day logistics. I'm willing to get together with whomever wants to BRING IT and offer our experience, strength and hope, man power, backstock supplies, contacts, etc... if there are partners who want to work on this together.
Additionally our city and county continues to watch us from the sidelines... and not only us, but vital and important projects like Living Hope Day Center, which is on the chopping block to close their current location at FBC Wilmington mid summer, which will ELIMINATE a safe (and cool) space for our unhoused neighbors three days a week (M, Tu, W from 8:30am to 1pm). This is a serious, serious loss of a vital service.
I realize the need & seriousness of the weather. I also want to name the bigness of a project this size and scope and the need for collaboration and funding. This is something I lose sleep over and my heart is rent.
- McBride, Director of The Warming Shelter ILM
