Wake County, Raleigh leaders try to find more White Flag space with warming shelters at capacity

Pullen Memorial Baptist Church at 1801 Hillsborough St. in Raleigh and Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh at 3313 Wade Ave. have given up their space to support Wake County’s White Flag operations.

The shelters open when temperatures dip below 35 degrees. This year, White Flag operations have been declared on six nights and the shelters have served a combined 101 people each night.

“I think the surprise for me was that this operation came together through the faithful commitment of communities who were willing to step up,” said Rev. Ian McPherson of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church.

Pullen Memorial Baptist Church’ spreads out its 50 cots among four classrooms typically used for Sunday School.

'We don't have anywhere to go': Wake County still sorting out emergency shelter plans ahead of Hurricane Ian, upcoming winter season

On Nov. 20, McPherson advocated to find a solution during his sermon.

“We must continue to open our doors to our neighbors who need a place to come in the from the cold, absolutely,” McPherson said. “And, we must hold our city council and our county commissioners to account reminding them that the safety of our unhoused neighbors is not an afterthought.”

Permanent shelter space in Wake County is at capacity with 400 people on the waiting list. Advocates tell WRAL News it typically takes about six weeks to get placed into a shelter.

“It still is a little bit stressful to make sure we are getting folks in, and we have already had to turn people away this year because we filled up the spaces we had,” said Pastor Vance Haywood of St. John’s Metropolitan Community Church.

St. John’s Metropolitan Community Church is the lead agency overseeing White Flag operations. They are either looking for a third, smaller space, like another church. Another option is for a larger 7,000- to 8,000-square-foot space that the county could rent through April.

“I have made countless phone calls and spent hours on the phone with realtors and landlords trying to get a space, and we run into roadblock and after roadblock,” Haywood said.

The city of Raleigh has set aside $150,000 for White Flag shelter operations. Wake County has allocated $200,000 for operational expenses, but no single site has been identified.

Last year, St. John’s Metropolitan Community Church hosted the emergency shelter at its former location at 622 Maywood Avenue in Raleigh. The church was leasing its former location, and knew years in advance the lease would not be renewed.

During the 2021-2022 winter season, the White Flag shelter at St. John’s Metropolitan Community Church opened 69 nights and served 842 people.

“There’s the big concern of people dying,” Haywood said. “We know in the area last year just in Wake County and a few surrounding counties that we had three people die due to exposure or hypothermia.”