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As Cities Resist Affordable Housing, This Homeless Shelter Fought Back and Won
On August 5, 2023, advocates for people experiencing homelessness in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, scored an upset victory. They opened a 20-bed shelter for short-term guests in a donated building that once belonged to a dentist and his wife.
The private facility fills a gap that the town ignored for years, despite a prolonged housing crisis that continues to push people onto the streets. Los Angeles and New York City both recently declared record levels of homelessness. Boston, Chicago and Phoenix report similar surges, and smaller communities are sharing the burden.
Before its grand opening in North Wilkesboro, the Catherine H. Barber Memorial Shelter served hundreds of families and individuals at a temporary location outside town. The facility, named after a community activist who raised several foster children through the years, fills an important gap. It is the only shelter for people experiencing homelessness in the county, and many have nowhere else to go. Yet rather than welcome the assistance, which costs taxpayers nothing, North Wilkesboro used zoning laws to block the shelter’s move to a permanent location in the donated building.
Essentially, the city wanted the shelter itself to remain homeless. But the all-volunteer board fought back in court with representation from our public interest law firm, the Institute for Justice, and won the right to open.
“All we want to do is serve our clients and our community, and this location is the perfect spot for us to be able to do that,” said Barber Memorial Shelter Chairwoman Elizabeth Huffman on the day of the ruling.
The private facility fills a gap that the town ignored for years, despite a prolonged housing crisis that continues to push people onto the streets. Los Angeles and New York City both recently declared record levels of homelessness. Boston, Chicago and Phoenix report similar surges, and smaller communities are sharing the burden.
Before its grand opening in North Wilkesboro, the Catherine H. Barber Memorial Shelter served hundreds of families and individuals at a temporary location outside town. The facility, named after a community activist who raised several foster children through the years, fills an important gap. It is the only shelter for people experiencing homelessness in the county, and many have nowhere else to go. Yet rather than welcome the assistance, which costs taxpayers nothing, North Wilkesboro used zoning laws to block the shelter’s move to a permanent location in the donated building.
Essentially, the city wanted the shelter itself to remain homeless. But the all-volunteer board fought back in court with representation from our public interest law firm, the Institute for Justice, and won the right to open.
“All we want to do is serve our clients and our community, and this location is the perfect spot for us to be able to do that,” said Barber Memorial Shelter Chairwoman Elizabeth Huffman on the day of the ruling.
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