The Faces of Wilmington’s Unhoused
For several months, WHQR followed the lives of homeless individuals in Wilmington, N.C. All face significant challenges and work together to stay safe. This story was originally published in WHQR and was made possible by a grant from the Fourth Estate Fund. It is co-published with The Assembly as part of a new content partnership with Spotlight. Photos by Madeline Gray.
From left: Chelsea Alicia Sterling, Victor Quillen, Theresa Shively, Leroy Lyons, and Cindy. (Photo by Madeline Gray)
Nearly 1 million people experienced homelessness for the first time in 2023, according to the National Association to End Homelessness. Still more experienced it for a second, third, or fourth time. With a rising cost of living and high rents, more and more Americans are teetering on the edge. Here are the stories of some of those who’ve fallen through the cracks—and are trying to claw their way back up: Chelsea Alicia Sterling, Victor Quillen, Theresa Shively, Leroy Lyons, and Cindy (who asked that we only use her first name).
As Quillen told WHQR’s Kelly Kenoyer, despite the trials and tribulations he’s faced, “I try to stay positive. You gotta keep the hope up. If you lose that—you ain’t got nothing.”
A sign inside the space that Vigilant Hope uses behind the Lake Forest Baptist Church. Vigilant Hope along with many other faith-based organizations provide a wide variety of services including meals, laundry services, and free mobile showers. (Photo by Madeline Gray)
Numerous organizations in town work to care for the homeless population. Several church organizations, including Vigilant Hope, Anchor Church, First Fruit Ministries, and Living Hope Day Center, work together to provide meals and respite almost every day of the week.
(Left to right) Red, Russ, Pastor Jamie Thompson, Leroy, and volunteer Janice Fladd share breakfast at Anchor United Methodist Church in downtown Wilmington. Leroy makes coffee, helps serve the meals, and cleans up each Sunday. Various volunteer groups provide meals for those experiencing homelessness. (Photo by Madeline Gray)
Donald rests his head on the table during a service at the Anchor United Methodist Church in downtown Wilmington. Pastor Jamie Thompson offers a sermon there every other week. (Photo by Madeline Gray)
The unsheltered community in New Hanover County trade in information: many of them are happy to tell new faces in the streets where they can find more help or their next meal. Camping spots, however, are often kept close to the chest. Large numbers of people congregating together at night can draw unwanted attention.
Chelsea holds her mother’s ring close to her chest outside of the Living Hope Day Center in downtown Wilmington. Her mother passed away in 2009 and she found the ring, one of the only remaining physical reminders of her mom, just last year. Chelsea, who has struggled with addiction, has three children who currently stay with relatives. She lives in her car with her partner and hopes to show her children that they can be proud of her even if they can’t be together right now. (Photo by Madeline Gray)
People who become homeless at some point in their lives almost always have adverse childhood experiences in their backgrounds. That trauma can lead to a higher likelihood of suicidal ideation, maladaptive behaviors, and addiction, among other problems. If you, or someone you know, is coping with thoughts of suicide, call or text the national suicide hotline at 988.
Pastor Jamie Thompson of Anchor Church says her congregants treat the restaurant they borrow each Sunday with reverence and respect. She says they feel a “shared ownership of the space,” and many of them donate the limited money they have to keeping it going.
Victor sits across the street from City Hall where he often sleeps outside. He admits that years of alcohol abuse led him to burn bridges with much of his family. A tattoo on his arm holds the names of his former wife and children. When he and his wife split up, Victor no longer had a place to stay and he ended up homeless. (Photo by Madeline Gray)
Social workers often find their clients at the Living Hope Day Center and take it as a chance to help them move their cases forward. Getting out of homelessness can be a challenge: many people in the streets have their possessions stolen, and losing one’s ID can become a major roadblock to getting Social Security, food stamps, or Medicare/Medicaid. For the able-bodied who can work, a lack of documents can prevent them from securing employment, getting a bank account, or renting an apartment.
Theresa Shively sits on the front steps of the First Baptist Church in downtown Wilmington where the Living Hope Day Center is open every Monday and Wednesday to provide free meals. Theresa’s sister Jennifer Shively always thought that they would get their father’s home when he passed away which would have provided stable housing for the family including Jennifer’s two autistic adult sons. But after Jennifer and Theresa’s father passed away, they realized he owed a substantial amount of money in taxes so they had to sell the family home. (Photo by Madeline Gray)
Sisters Jennifer and Theresa Shively eat a free meal at the Living Hope Day Center which is open every Monday and Wednesday. A patchwork of community and faith-based organizations help to meet the basic needs of people in the Wilmington area who are experiencing homelessness. (Photo by Madeline Gray)
Unsheltered people like Leroy Lyons are particularly hard to serve: many are forced to move around, making them hard for social workers to find. And their exposure in the streets makes them vulnerable to theft, violence, or arrest, which can create barriers to housing.
Leroy has lived in Wilmington for the past 25 years and spent four decades in the construction business. As rents went up, he lost his apartment and was forced into homelessness. (Photo by Madeline Gray)
For the homeless, working with social workers can be a test of patience: it can take months or years to get all the needed documents lined up, and there can be setbacks from theft, stints in jail, or other barriers. Case workers are generally careful to not promise housing because there are so few permanent housing options available. But local organizations like Good Shepherd Center sometimes get a breakthrough: and get an unsheltered person into housing.
The re-opening of Driftwood apartments was a boon for the unsheltered in Wilmington: 15 apartments that are capped at 30% of a chronically homeless person’s income. These types of apartments are reserved for people who will never be able to resolve their homelessness on their own, either because of mental illness, physical disability, or mental disability. Good Shepherd Center Executive Director Katrina Knight estimates the region needs 100 more units of this type of housing, and Good Shepherd has plans to build and preserve 75 of them.
Cindy sits in her new apartment at the Driftwood Apartment complex. After nearly two years of living on the streets and sleeping outside, Cindy was able to move into her own private living space at Driftwood. She carries her apartment keys around her neck and still frequents downtown to get meals and see friends. (Photo by Madeline Gray)
For more information about this series and about Anchor Church, listen to the July 19 episode of The Newsroom on WHQR: “Poverty is a sin. Being poor is not.” A new reporting project on being homeless in the Cape Fear Region.