Permanent supportive housing facility will provide 32 individuals with a place to call home

SECU Foundation has announced its award of a $2 million challenge grant to Good Shepherd Center (GSC) in Wilmington, demonstrating its ongoing commitment to improving the lives of North Carolinians. GSC, the largest provider of homeless services in the Cape Fear region, will use the funds for the construction of a new 32-unit permanent supportive housing facility to assist veterans, seniors, and persons with disabilities battling chronic homelessness.

This latest grant builds upon the successful collaboration between SECU Foundation and Good Shepherd Center in 2016 for the development of SECU Lakeside Reserve, a housing project that has successfully helped adults transition out of homelessness and regain their independence. The Foundation’s support for the new facility will help GSC expand its reach and impact in the region. Good Shepherd Center has been feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, and fostering the transition to housing since 1983.

“Good Shepherd Center has been a tremendous catalyst in providing housing solutions to address homelessness and ensure the area’s most vulnerable populations have access to a stable environment and the support they need,” said SECU Foundation Executive Director Jama Campbell. “We are honored to help this organization take a significant step forward in the fight to end homelessness, and we hope that our challenge grant will inspire others to lend their support to an effort that is making such a positive difference for North Carolinians.”

“We are both humbled and inspired by SECU Foundation’s incredible generosity,” said Good Shepherd Center Executive Director Katrina Knight. “It is not merely an investment in Good Shepherd Center’s plans to create more permanent supportive housing, it is quite literally an investment to end the housing crisis for our most fragile neighbors, chronically homeless individuals with disabilities. We could not be more grateful for the Foundation’s support, vision, and leadership!”