A place to call home

Much-needed, soon-to-be-complete community facility in Sanford will provide shelter for nearly 80 unhoused men, women and children at a time

By Billy Liggett

The 8,600-square-foot structure going up along Third Street just blocks from downtown Sanford looks like it could be a large medical clinic, or perhaps a nice daycare facility with its crimson brick facade, elevated foundation and dormer windows. The building — just three months from completion — is neither of those. For potentially thousands of men, women and children in the coming years, it’s a potential fresh start. 

It’s a home.

The Samuel J. Wornom Community Shelter, a $4 million project headed by Outreach Mission Inc., is set to open its doors on July 1, offering 60 beds, four family rooms and opportunities to break the cycle of homelessness for Sanford’s unhoused population, which — according to statewide statistics — continues to grow as the city grows. The facility, named for the late founder of The Pantry and a renowned, beloved philanthropist who helped a number of local organizations for decades, will consolidate OMI’s current shelters (both operating in older residential homes) and provide newer, better living conditions for those either needing a warm bed or a chance to get their feet back on the ground.

And it’s sorely needed, according to Hamer Carter, who became president of OMI after a 32-year career in nuclear power for Progress Energy.

In 2024, OMI served 564 people experiencing homelessness.  Just three years prior, that number was around 368 and prior to 2018, OMI provided shelter and support for anywhere between 60 to 70 people a year. It was in 2018 when the organization decided to remove many of the barriers between a person and their ability to stay in their facilities — some shelters require a person to have a job, while others require drug or alcohol testing before they’re let in. Once OMI became a “low barrier” shelter, the numbers went up.

“What we saw [in 2018] was there was a big need,” says Carter. “We began as just a nighttime shelter, and when we recognized people in our community needed more, we decided we needed to do more. We opened two shelters [a men’s and a women’s facility] 24 hours a day, seven days a week so we could serve more people and have more programs. Then changing to low barrier meant we could do even more. 

“If somebody comes through that door and needs help — and if they’re not a threat to themselves or anybody around them — we’ll take them in. We’ll get them the help they need.”

Last year’s big number coincided with homeless statistics seen statewide, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which counted 11,626 North Carolinians who experienced homelessness in 2024, an increase of 19 percent over the previous year. Nationally, the number rose by 18 percent. And while there are a number of reasons why a person or a family can find themselves unsheltered, the North Carolina Continuums of Care points to rising home costs, rising inflation, stagnant wages and the end of COVID-era eviction moratoriums.

When the Samuel J. Wornom Community Shelter opens in July, it will consolidate OMI’s two residential homes (one of which was torn down on Third Street to make way for the new building) and raise the total number of beds from 36 to 76 — 30 for men, 30 for women and 16 beds within four family rooms. It will include a full kitchen with cafeteria and food storage area, a multi-purpose room, laundry facilities, employee offices and a security station. The concrete foundation will help with cleaning and minimize potential bedbug problems, and the brick exterior and overall design was chosen to blend in with the surrounding community. 

Outside includes a small parking area, a playground and break area with picnic tables. Already, the building is inviting — another effort to break the negative stigma surrounding homelessness.

That inviting look is intentional and important. The negative stigmas surrounding homelessness not only lead to stereotypes and discrimination, they can also keep people who are struggling with dependable housing from seeking assistance.

“There are some who believe that every homeless person is either an alcoholic or a drug user, and that is just simply a myth,” says Carter. “What happens nine times out of 10 is the drug use or the alcohol use is a result of some other trauma that might have happened in a person’s life. It could have been a death in the family. I could have been the person was injured on the job. Their business might have closed. We have had nurses, paralegals, people in manufacturing, people in HR, business owners — you name it. We’ve had people from all walks of life who have reached out and sought our services. 

“There are many reasons people lose their homes. So our services are more than just a roof and a bed. We treat the whole person — we get their medical help squared away. We help get their mental health treated. We can help them find employment. We help them with their spiritual health.”

OMI is currently run by an executive committee, board members and a shelter staff currently numbered at 11 (ambassadors and volunteers round out the total staff). One thing Carter says is an important part of their jobs is they do their best to learn the name of everybody who walks through their doors. 

“It makes you an individual,” he says. “It gives you a feeling of worth. It just says, ‘I’m equal to everybody else. It helps build confidence. And, of course, we’re faith based, so everybody who comes in gets a Bible, and that reinforces a lot of what we do.”

The average stay for an individual or a family at an OMI shelter is around 60 days, Carter says. If someone needs just one or a few nights, they put in for a “lottery bid,” and if a bed becomes available, they’re contacted. They have to be at the shelter by 6 p.m. and can stay until 9 a.m. the following morning. If they choose to stay longer, they can enter a 90-day program where their bed will be reserved and staff will work with them on health needs, life skill and job skill training and job hunting. 

According to Carter, that assistance is intended to not only help them in their current situation, but “break the cycle” of homelessness. He said OMI helped “rehome” about 140 people last year, meaning they helped clients find stable housing. 

“We want you to be sustainable when you leave,” he says. “We mean this in a good way, but when you leave, we hope we don’t see you again.” 

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THE COMMUNITY’S SHELTER

Samuel Joseph Wornom III believed in Outreach Mission Inc. According to Carter, he was always the first to ask what their biggest needs were at any given time, and when COVID hit in 2020, Wornom and his friends at Jonesboro Heights Baptist Church stepped up and built outdoor picnic tables so clients could be seen and remain socially distant. 

“I’ve had clients come to me and say they’d been downtown and were approached by this older man who asked if they were hungry,” Carter recalls. “So he’d take them over to Ms. Wenger’s or another restaurant and buy them a meal. And that was just Sam. He just wanted to help people.”

A native of Virginia, Wornom came to North Carolina in 1959 to attend East Carolina University, where he earned his degree in business administration. He married his college sweetheart, Sandra, and they moved to Sanford in 1966. A year later, Wornom co-founded The Pantry, a convenience store chain that would spread to 480 stores in five states before they sold in 1987. He’d go on to work for and launch other businesses into the 21st Century, but his biggest contribution to Sanford was his advocacy. 

Wornom served on several nonprofit boards and was a founding member of the Boys & Girls Club of Sanford and Lee County. He was a deacon at Jonesboro Heights Baptist and was a longtime supporter of his alma mater at ECU and their athletic department. He died on Jan. 30, 2022, at the age of 79, leaving a legacy of business success and philanthropy behind.

Carter considers it a huge compliment to Wornom that his friends continued that legacy in raising money for the shelter that will bear his name. A large donation came from a private donor group made up of Wornom’s old friends. Several local churches — including Jonesboro Heights Baptist — stepped up with donations, as did local government entities like the Sanford City Council and Lee County Board of Commissioners. 

The largest gift came in the form of a $1.2 million check from the State Employees Credit Union Foundation, which provides funding for scholarships, local and community development projects, health care and human services across North Carolina. Fidelity Bank, headquartered in Fuquay-Varina, donated $750,000 toward the shelter in 2023.

Every dollar that has gone toward the shelter speaks to the community effort that has gone into making it a reality, says Laura Spivey, OMI’s executive director. 

“Each time I go into the new building, I have to hold back the urge to cry. It has been seven years of people praying and working together to make this happen. All the glory and praise be to God, for it is his project,” says Spivey. “This new facility will allow OMI staff and clients to be in one building. It will allow us to be more fiscally efficient, and our staff will be able to work together to collaborate on helping the clients. The community will have a building for those experiencing homelessness that will be a beautiful space for them to reset and recover from the trauma of what has brought them to this point in their lives.

“It also gives our volunteers, our friends of the mission and our churches who are supporting us a place for fellowship and a place to work and support their neighbors.”

Both Spivey and Carter say the four family rooms — each of them secure with room for two sets of bunk beds and an adjoining bathroom — are the most important addition to the new facility, because it will keep families together when they need each other the most. 

“Before this, we’ve had to split families up, sending men to the men’s shelter and women to another building,” Carter says. “But now, it means so much that we can keep them together. Four beds per room, dressers, a full bathroom. A self-contained, secured room with laundry facilities just down the hall, and access to everything else we offer. It just means so much to what we’re trying to do.”

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SUCCESS STORIES

“Tim” had been living and sleeping on the streets for nearly a decade. He suffered with his mental health and wanted to be left alone. He had not bathed in over a year and was caked in mud, his hair matted and his clothing sour with odor. 

OMI staff invited Tim to the shelter on a number of occasions, offering him coffee or food in the process. One day, Tim accepted the invite. He bathed and was handed clean clothes. He sat down in the living area of the shelter and fell asleep. When he woke up, he asked to be taken back to his area where he regularly slept outdoors. 

But a connection was made. Tim accepted an invite from OMI to take him to a hospital to be checked out. He eventually tried out the men’s shelter on Chatham Street for an extended stay, taking regular medication and meeting with a case manager daily. That manager eventually connected Tim with his daughter a state away — she had been looking for him for five years. Tim also learned that he had been receiving Social Security checks by direct deposit for years, unknown to him. He had more than $20,000 in his account. He returned to his daughter, obtained housing, a mental health provider and a fresh start. 

Today, he still contacts his OMI case manager once a month. He’s still doing much better.

Tim’s is one of several “success stories” on OMI’s website. Stories of women who were forced into homelessness after a failed marriage and leaned on OMI to find a job, restore their credit history and become self-sufficient. They’re the stories OMI is proud to share on their website and in their quarterly newsletters, which regularly feature photos of men and women who’ve gone through the programs and have come out the other side in a more stable environment.

But OMI’s new shelter comes at a time when homelessness in the United States is at an all-time high. In 2023, there were an estimated 653,000 people classified as homeless — more than the previous high of 647,000 in 2007 during the economic downturn. Homelessness is a complex issue that has numerous causes, but according to Hamer, it’s something that can be turned around. The shelter serves as both an “immediate action” by providing food and shelter, but it’s those long-term strategies that are truly making a difference. 

“We’re not making widgets,” Carter says. “We’re not doing this so we can point to statistics. We’re dealing with people and people’s lives, so we’re trying to do everything we can for every single person who comes in. And I think by doing that, we’re ultimately helping the community. You’ll see fewer people having to rely on panhandling. You’ll see individuals and families able to hold a job, buy a home and contribute to their community. They’re transitioning from someone they may have been considered a ‘load’ on the community to someone who’s become a contributing member of it.

“I bump into people all the time in Sanford — like a cashier at the grocery store or someone working in the kitchen at a local restaurant. They’re people who’ve gone through our organization. And they’re grateful for the service we provided.” 

Spivey says the negative stigma surrounding homelessness is something that will take years (generations) to change. But that change can start locally if people take the time to consider the reasons people seek shelter and what it takes to get them on their feet again.

“I would ask others to consider walking a mile in their shoes,” she says. “We all have experienced trauma of some kind in this life, and that is what homelessness is. It’s a traumatic experience. Past or present, that experience creates a choice that was made — right or wrong. OMI is a faith-based organization that meets people where they are in life. No matter what brought them to this point, we are not here to judge or condemn. We are here to support them in their efforts to change the situation they’re currently in. 

“We simply love, support, guide and help them with another choice or another direction to help them out of homelessness. And we share the gospel with them as a source of hope for their future.”

Learn more about Outreach Mission Inc. and the new shelter opening in July  at sanfordoutreachmission.com.