Our Services
Shelter Services
Adult Shelter
Haywood Pathways Center provides shelter to men and women aged 18+ experiencing homelessness in Haywood County. We accept new residents year round, as space allows. Please call (828) 246-0332 or come by to complete an initial eligibility screening Monday-Friday between 9am-5pm.
We have the capacity to provide shelter for up to 32 men and 28 women at one time. Adult shelter dorms are closed from 8:30 AM- 4:30PM each weekday, but open throughout the weekend. Our dining hall is open 24 hours per day, to ensure that our residents have a safe and stable place to be each day.
Residents have access to hot meals and snacks, showers, hygiene items, clothing, laundry facilities, and WiFi access. All residents participate in person-centered case management, working on individualized goals towards housing, income, health & wellness, life skills development, social support, and spirituality. On-Site life skills classes are available (Intro to Finances, Renting 101, Arts & Crafts, Recreational Therapy, etc) as well as Chaplaincy Services.
Exclusions: Pathways limits entry to those who are from Haywood County. We cannot accept anyone under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. We are unable to accommodate anyone who has been convicted of violent crimes or sex offenses. For safety reasons, we are also not able to accommodate anyone who is determined to be a danger to self or others, but will assist as we are able in finding an appropriate facility and transportation. Each person must be able to take care of their own physical needs and manage their own medication. Opiate medications (not including currently prescribed suboxone and methadone) are not prohibited on HPC property.
Family Shelter
We have the capacity to provide shelter for up to 10 families (36 individuals) at one time. Our family shelter is open 24/7. Each family has a private room and may share a bathroom with up to one other family. Families share communal dining and living space, computer room, play room, laundry, and outdoor play area.
Residents have access to hot meals and snacks, pantry and cold food storage, microwave, showers, hygiene items, clothing, laundry facilities, and WiFi access. All residents participate in person-centered case management, working on individualized goals towards housing, income, health & wellness, life skills development, social support, and spirituality. On-Site life skills classes are available (Intro to Finances, Renting 101, Arts & Crafts, Recreational Therapy, etc) as well as Chaplaincy Services.
Exclusions: Pathways limits entry to those who are from Haywood County. We cannot accept anyone under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. We are unable to accommodate anyone who has been convicted of violent crimes or sex offenses. For safety reasons, we are also not able to accommodate anyone who is determined to be a danger to self or others, but will assist as we are able in finding an appropriate facility and transportation. Each person must be able to take care of their own physical needs and manage their own medication. Opiate medications (not including currently prescribed suboxone and methodone) are not prohibited on HPC property.
Cold Grace
Haywood Pathways Center implements Cold Grace shelter for nights when temperatures fall below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Any man or woman, without safe shelter for the night will be accepted and permitted to stay in the dining hall for the night, and/or return, for an unlimited number of nights until the weather has improved and safety can be assured. While sobriety is not a requirement for Cold Grace shelter, anyone deemed a danger to themselves or others will not be permitted to stay. We will do our best to work with partner organizations and emergency services to see that anyone in need of shelter during freezing weather has shelter for the night.
Transitional Housing
Haywood Pathways Center designates 8-10 beds for individuals and/or families to participate in our Transitional Housing Program (THP). In this program, participants are able to reside at Pathways for up to 2 years. This program began in January 2023.
The current challenge in Haywood County of finding affordable housing for individuals and families exiting homelessness at HPC (income ranges from $0-$1500/month), has resulted in an increase in the length of stay in emergency shelter. More and more people are staying longer and longer in shelter, sometimes up to a year or more. This is not ideal and extends the period of trauma that is the experience of homelessness, as folks are stuck in limbo, hoping and waiting for a suitable housing option to become available. The lack of available affordable and safe housing stock has transformed how quickly and successfully the move from homelessness to housed can be done. As a result, the addition of transitional housing services was a welcome and necessary next step.
In addition to the low availability of permanent housing options, not all individuals or families are ready to move directly into permanent housing upon their exit from emergency shelter. Sometimes, there is a need for an intermediate step from which the additional benefits of continued support can be garnered.
A continued and more intensive case management support program is required for all transitional housing residents that builds on the work already completed while in emergency shelter. This additional work, done within the stability of a longer-term home, allows for the individual or family to more fully address their struggles, making them both better candidates for permanent housing, and far less likely to experience homelessness again in the future. For families, especially those with young children, interrupting the cycles of poverty and housing insecurity has the potential to change the course of their futures. Knowing that approximately 60% of the people experiencing homelessness at HPC struggle with mental health and/or substance abuse issues, and understanding that it takes a significant amount of time to treat these issues, having the opportunity for additional time in a stable residence is invaluable for long-term housing success.
To be eligible to apply to THP, an individual or family must have been in the short-term housing program for a minimum of 3 months, be in good standing, have shown significant progress on their person-centered goals, meet a baseline of stability, have stable monthly income, and be willing to save a minimum of 30% of their income with an eye towards moving to permanent housing.
Food Services
Holy Cow Food Truck
In 2020, Haywood Pathways Center began operating the Holy Cow food truck as a social enterprise venture to support the financial needs of the organization. In Spring 2022, the food truck was reimagined from a strictly retail venture, and transitioned to a donation-based model.
Why? Because Pathways is blessed with an overabundance of food, and part of our mission is to “provide food…to Haywood County residents.” What better way to do that than to take the gifts we have been given and go to those who are hungry?
Meals are provided at no charge to anyone who orders a meal, but donations are accepted to support the operation of the food truck. The food truck is operated Monday-Friday, providing lunch and/or dinner at various locations across Haywood County. Holy Cow serves a rotating menu of daily specials in addition to standard hamburgers and hot dogs. Drinks and fresh fruit are also available.
Annually, Holy Cow serves over 20,000 meals. The majority of our patrons are not experiencing homelessness, but are struggling to make ends meet, have children in the home, find cooking difficult due to age and/or disability, have a home but no utilities to be able to cook. There are others who come because they like the food and the community. Some are able to pay it forward for the next family, others dig the change out of their pockets, others are not able to contribute. Regardless, all are welcome, have the opportunity to order with dignity, and leave with full stomachs and hearts.
Want to financially support the operation of Holy Cow?
We can cater your next event! Fill out this form to start a conversation!
https://forms.gle/4VMEZXHT4MTwkWBX9
Sponsors are needed!
Your business, church, family, or YOU can provide Holy Cow meals for a week, a month, or more!
Email gingeralfrey.hpc@gmail.com or call Haywood Pathways Center at 828-246-0332.
https://www.facebook.com/HolyCowHPC/
Want to schedule an event?
Contact Ginger Alfrey at gingeralfrey.hpc@gmail.com
Kitchen & Dining
The kitchen at Haywood Pathways operates to feed and sustain both the residents of Haywood Pathways Center as well as community members in need of a hot dinner meal. Thanks to partners like MANNA, Publix and other organizations as well as the volunteer hours of hundreds of cook team volunteers, and the excellent leadership of Chef Neil Ravenna, the Pathways kitchen is able to serve over 75,000 meals annually with a food budget of less than $3,500!
Residents of Pathways are served 3 meals/day plus evening snacks. Breakfast foods and coffee are available each morning. Residents who will be off-campus at lunchtime can request a bagged lunch. Residents who are on-campus at lunchtime have the option of a hot lunch served at noon. Dinner is served at 6pm nightly.
While the campus as a whole, including the dining hall, is closed to visitors, a hot to-go meal is available nightly at 6:30pm. Anyone is welcome to come to the doors of the dining hall at that time and take a meal to go, no questions asked.
Want to volunteer?
Check out our volunteer website HERE! If you still have questions after perusing our dedicated website, you can contact Julie at volunteer@haywoodpathways.org. Volunteers are the backbone of our organization. Staff and residents love to welcome volunteers onto our campus and into our lives. We are grateful for the sweat, love, and expertise that volunteers bring as they enhance every program we offer at Haywood Pathways!
Support Services
Case Management
Haywood Pathways Center has always been dedicated to providing for basic necessities like food and shelter. But we never stopped there; we are committed to helping individuals rebuild their lives through guidance, empowerment, support, and the connection to needed resources. To that end, we developed and implemented our person-centered case management program in 2017.
Each resident of Haywood Pathways Center is assigned to and meets with their case manager at least once per week. Utilizing individualized SMART goals within a holistic template to address housing, income, health/wellness/recovery, life skills development, social support, and spirituality, each individual residing at Haywood Pathways, in conjunction with their case manager, determines their plan to move from crisis to stability. Each plan is unique and is tailored to meet each individual where they are, recognizing that we are each the expert of our own lives.
Since the inception of this program, we have seen a marked increase in the number of people who exit Pathways to housing (60% of individuals–compared to less than 30%) and 73% of families. We have also seen a marked increase in the number of people who have stable monthly income (73%–compared to less than 50%).
Peer Support Services
Peer Support Services encompass a range of activities and interactions between people who share similar experiences of being diagnosed with mental health conditions, substance use disorders, or both. This mutuality—often called “peerness”—between a peer support worker and person in or seeking recovery promotes connection and inspires hope. Peer support offers a level of acceptance, understanding, and validation not found in many other professional relationships (Mead & McNeil, 2006). By sharing their own lived experience and practical guidance, peer support workers help people to develop their own goals, create strategies for self-empowerment, and take concrete steps towards building fulfilling, self-determined lives for themselves. From: https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/programs_campaigns/brss_tacs/peer-support-2017.pdf
Haywood Pathways Center first received funding to enlist the unique services of NC Certified Peer Support Specialists (PSS) in 2018. At that time, PSS services were a joint venture between Haywood Pathways Center and the Haywood County Detention Center, with 2 Pathways PSS staff located within the detention center. For the next 5 years, PSS staff worked with inmates struggling with substance abuse and mental health issues in an attempt to provide support and diversion to the resources that could help them address root causes of criminal behavior in an attempt to reduce an individual’s frequency of contact with the criminal justice system.
In 2023, PSS services transitioned from the Detention Center to the campus of Haywood Pathways. Currently, Haywood Pathways has 1 PSS on staff who is part of the Care Coordination Team, working in their unique capacity to support residents as they work on their individualized goal plans. Often, due to their unique position and particularly relatable life experience, PSS are able to offer unique insight to both residents and staff. PSS meet with residents individually and in groups. The presence of this kind of support on campus has proven to be indispensable for both residents and the Care Coordination Team as a whole.
Chaplains & Spiritual Support
Chaplaincy can encompass a range of activities and interactions. Chaplains focus primarily on caring for the spiritual and emotional needs of residents. They offer the ministry of presence, primarily through listening and prayer. At Haywood Pathways Center, volunteer chaplains visit before, during, and after the evening meal, building relationships with the residents and staff. Chaplains can encourage residents’ forward steps (contracted with Pathways’ case managers) without trying to fix or give advice.
Chaplains may be called upon to deliver a brief devotion and prayer before the evening meal. Because many of the residents speak of their Christian commitment, the devotion can be directed to encouraging their walk of faith while pointing to the good news that God in Christ invites us to turn toward the way of new life in the Spirit.
Life Skills Development and Support
We strongly believe that knowledge is empowering and recognize that learning is a lifelong venture for all of us. Haywood Pathways Center works with area organizations, partners, and volunteers to offer a wide variety of groups and classes to the individuals and families residing here. Residents work with their case managers to decide which classes/groups fit their individualized goal plans best based on where they would like to boost their knowledge and experience. For areas of growth that are not addressed by onsite groups and classes, case management works with residents to make connections with community resources.
Current On-site Classes/Groups include:
Renting 101 (Required for All)
Intro to Finances (Required for All)
Arts & Crafts–various subjects
Recreational Therapy
Healthy Relationships
THC 101
Bible Study
Dangers of Procrastination
Facing Your Feelings
Parenting Support
Emotions and Money
Recovery Support
The road to recovery can be a bumpy one with many ups and downs. In an attempt to provide easily accessible recovery support, Haywood Pathways Center partners with other organizations and volunteers to provide onsite recovery support groups on a weekly basis. Our case managers also work with residents who need and want to attend offsite groups and classes within the community.
Onsite groups include:
Alcoholics Anonymous
