All-America City projects: A creative re-use of an abandoned school in Statesville, N.C.
June 16, 2009 at 5:00 am by Wayne Garcia
Photos: Fifth Street Ministries
The National Civic League starts early registration in Tampa tonight as it gets ready to open the 2009 All-America City Awards conference. We’re highlighting one nominated project from each of the 30 competing cities (10 will be named AAC’s). Here is Statesville, N.C.:
Statesville, North Carolina
Fifth Street MinistriesIn 1990, Fifth Street Ministries began running emergency, winter and battered women’s shelters. In 1991, faced with inadequate space and a deteriorating facility, Fifth Street Ministries moved to a dilapidated and abandoned school. The move allowed the soup kitchen to move into a functioning cafeteria and the expansion of the winter shelter program into a year-round night shelter. In subsequent years, additional services were offered, including a free health and medical center, a children’s program, and a thrift store that provided clothing and employment opportunities for shelter guests. In 2008, Fifth Street Ministries provided 58,247 meals, 11,005 shelter nights in the overnight shelter, 13,335 shelter nights in the emergency shelter, and 7,852 shelter nights in the battered women’s shelter. 350 volunteers donated well over 5,000 volunteer hours to make this possible. The need for Fifth Street Ministries’ services continues to grow and, with the help of community partners, Fifth Street Ministries opened a new facility on December 6, 2008. It has room for overnight guests, a cafeteria, and rooms for counseling, training, education and support groups. The new facility also enables Fifth Street Shelters to offer transitional housing and additional training in a variety of areas.
Thirty cities, towns, neighborhoods and communities are vying for recognition as an All-America City at the June 16-19 conference at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel. Each will give a short presentation on three public-private civic projects they undertook before a panel of judges names the best. Tampa is one of the finalists.
Former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman is the president of the National Civic League this year and a big proponent of these kinds of partnership projects. During her tenure, in 1990, Tampa was named an All-America City. Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason is also involved, as a member of the Host Committee.
