North Strand Housing Shelter in sixth year

Two months ago, the North Strand Housing Shelter in Longs helped a family of four in a run of bad luck. “They were absolutely whipped,” founder and director Dana Black recalled. The couple were 17-year residents of the area and wanted to stay, but they considered returning to their former community.

“They’re a sweet couple,” Black says, and they are smiling again, both having found work and moving from the shelter last week with their two sons. “The boys don’t have to say they’re staying in a shelter,” Black says. The family stayed in the shelter’s family room, a special feature of the new building which opened in June 2015. The family was one of seven sheltered in 2015 when the NSHS had a total of 250 guests, including 32 children and 72 military veterans.

When Black first outlined her plan for a shelter, many wondered if it could be done – these included some who absolutely recognized the need for a shelter and were willing to help. In a few months, a building was located, purchased and remodeled on S.C. 9 in Longs. The shelter opened in December 2010 and soon was operating at capacity.

North Strand Housing Shelter became a community partner in the United Way of Horry County. In 2015, a new larger building opened increasing the capacity. “We’re thrilled with the new building and the way it is designed with the family room and a veterans wing.” The family room allows parents to stay with their children. The design of the original building made it difficult to keep families together.

The original building was converted to housing for veterans. A fire damaged dining, serving and storage areas as well as a bathroom. The fire-damaged area was sealed off and four veterans live in the building. It will eventually be restored. Marlisa Small and Tammy Hayes have organized a prime rib dinner fundraiser on Jan. 23 to cover the replacement costs of equipment such as a washer, dryer and refrigerators, lost in the fire. Small says the fundraiser features entertainment by The Tams, and live and silent auctions.

The 5th annual women’s luncheon for the shelter will be on Jan. 30 at the Dunes Golf & Beach Club. The program likely will include the woman of the family that recently was able to move from the shelter. The luncheon is one of three fundraisers of NSHS itself. The other two are a golf tournament in April – this year will be the third annual event – and a spaghetti dinner in June. In addition, supporters such as Small and Hayes hold fundraisers to benefit the shelter.

With the new building opening, the United Way allocation for NSHS rose from $5,000 to $18,000. “That really helped us – that’s been a blessing,” Black says.

Volunteers from two dozen churches and other groups continue to help the shelter operate with only one paid person, a house manager. “We’re always in need of volunteers to work in the office, answer the phone (done at the volunteer’s home) and drive the van.”

In addition to the family, three others recently left the shelter for housing in Columbia and North Myrtle Beach. The third returned to Virginia, with the shelter providing transportation.

With the departures, “we’ve got a little bit of space.” On Tuesday, Black was looking at a half dozen applications, “so we’ll be pretty close to capacity.”

This story was originally published January 6, 2016 at 8:15 AM with the headline "North Strand Housing Shelter in sixth year."