Fayetteville Homeless Shelter Seeking New Home After Fire

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — A Fayetteville homeless shelter is seeking the community's help to get back to its own mission of helping others.

City fire officials said a malfunctioning surge protector sparked the flames that gutted the City Rescue Mission early Tuesday morning, sending one resident to a local hospital and 15 others to temporary shelters.

"Now, my guys are truly homeless, because this is home," said mission Executive Director Gladys Thompson. "These were my children. These were the people we took care of every day."

The house was condemned, leaving the nonprofit group without a permanent facility.

“If anybody out there has any type of building, or if anybody can donate to us so we can rent or lease, we just need to get back up and started again,” Thompson said.

The mission, which opened 34 years ago, runs a 90-day program that helps single men get jobs and places of their own. The shelter has about 50 names on a waiting list to move in.

Every evening, as many as 150 people showed up at the shelter for a meal.

The mission has set up its offices temporarily at 331 Adam St. It has also set up a fund. Donations can be made payable to the City Rescue Mission Relief Fund at any BB&T bank.

Tom Lambeth, the resident who was injured in the fire, was at the UNC Burn Center Thursday evening with first-, second- and third-degree burns, Thompson said.