CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A century-old building at Caldwell Presbyterian Church will soon have a new purpose.
The building will be repurposed to be used for 21 low-income studio apartments.
"We have all noticed there is an increase in the number of people who are unsheltered out on the streets in Charlotte," Lisa Thompson, an elder at Caldwell Presbyterian Church, said. "We need affordable housing here in Charlotte so we started building."
The project will cost $6 million and includes an $800,000 contribution from their congregation.
"We are going to have 21 folks moving in sometime next spring that will work with caseworkers at Roof Above, they are our case managers and will manage the building for us," Thompson said.
Thompson said they are not requiring tenants to be drug-free or alcohol-free. Instead, they provide housing first and other services afterward.
She says that while this project may not seem massive to some, they hope the impact will be.
"We can't provide a thousand units here, but if we can replicate this across the city we are going to see a huge impact on being able to house some of these unsheltered folks," Thompson said.
Leaders at Caldwell Presbyterian Church encourage other churches to utilize their resources too.
On Saturday, Nov. 23, they will host a summit to guide other churches on how to use what they have to help house their neighbors.