‘We’re all called to help each other’
Wed, 12/13/2023 - 9:16am
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Holy City Missions seeks to expand, build new facility
By:
Elizabeth Bush, beth@thedanielislandnews.com
One man is here because he desperately needs a shower. A woman who can’t afford groceries is seeking a warm meal. A family showed up after having the heat in their home cut off because they couldn’t pay the bill. They all have different reasons for coming, but they share one thing in common. They had nowhere else to turn.
Enter Holy City Missions (HCM), a nonprofit ministry that operates out of Aldersgate United Methodist Church at 1444 Remount Road in North Charleston, about 8 miles from Daniel Island – offering food, clothing, shelter, support and resources to hundreds of people in need each month.
“Eighteen to 20% of people in North Charleston are living at or below the poverty line,” explained Pastor Kam Stabler of Aldersgate, which has housed the missions’ project for the last 8 years. “There is a lot of homelessness.”
And nowhere is that more evident than Wednesday mornings at Aldersgate, when HCM opens its food pantry and clothing closet to a steady stream of people. They also host a warming shelter, providing sleeping quarters, meals and community for homeless men, women and children when the temperatures are expected to drop
overnight to 35 degrees or lower. The ministry has seen the number of clients requesting help nearly double in recent years.
In fact, so great is the need that HCM is mounting a $7 million campaign to build a new shelter that will operate 365 days a year – enabling them to serve more individuals with more services and resources.
“We are really bumping up against our capacities here,” Stabler said.
Among those working on the HCM team is longtime volunteer and Cainhoy peninsula resident Mary Nemeth.
“I think we’re all called to help each other, and there’s no judgment,” said Nemeth. “Everybody has things in their lives that have caused them strife and trouble. And this is a place where we meet that and we care for each other…Everyone deserves dignity. Everyone deserves love. We want to be that. We want to show that.”
Holy City Missions partners with 18 different churches and is nondenominational. In addition to providing a safe, welcoming space to rest and recharge, they also offer job skills, financial literacy training, and faith-based support.
“God is all over this project,” Nemeth. continued “We’ve never turned anyone away.”
HCM recently purchased land nearby that they will use to build their new tri-county shelter, which they plan to open within two years. The newly launched capital campaign will cover construction costs. Nemeth is hopeful her home community, and all of the Charleston region, will consider supporting the project.
“The Daniel Island community is just filled with angels on earth,” she said. “I am always just blown away.”
“We all have, no matter what, an opportunity to be kind,” Nemeth said. “We all have an opportunity every day to help someone else…when you can actually put action behind your words, your heart will never, never be so full.”
For more information on HCM and its “Envision Campaign,” visit holycitymissions.org.