Hope Center to grow under Star Gospel Mission

Charleston’s oldest independent faith-based charity will take on the Hope Center’s work and grow it, with more hours, wider reach across the city and no gap in care

People in Charleston who have nowhere else to turn are about to have more access to services. Star Gospel Mission and the city of Charleston announced plans today for Star Gospel Mission to continue the work of the Hope Center, the downtown day center that helps people experiencing homelessness get back on their feet, and expand it to reach more people in more places.

The Hope Center is open weekdays from about 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. By bringing the work under Star Gospel Mission, the goal is to expand what the center can offer and reach people at more of the hours they need help, not just Monday through Friday.

The change is also about reach. Today, the Hope Center serves people from one location on the peninsula. But homelessness doesn’t stop at the peninsula, and the help shouldn’t either. Working with Star Gospel Mission gives this effort room to grow beyond downtown and serve people across the entire city.

The center, at 529 Meeting St., connects people to the things that help them find stable footing: case management, housing resources, health care, substance use counseling and help signing up for benefits, all in one place. Those services will keep running, and the aim is to build on them over time.

Star Gospel Mission has served Charleston for more than 120 years. It is Charleston’s oldest independent faith-based charity, and caring for people through hardship is its core mission. It already runs transitional housing for men and for women and children, a recovery program, and emergency social services for families. The city opened the Hope Center a few years ago to meet an urgent need. Now, that work will expand under this transition.

Services will stay at the center’s current location, where the lease has been extended through December 2027, and the Hope Center will remain open to anyone who needs it. People who count on the center can keep coming to the same place for the same help, with no interruption, while the organizations plan for a smooth transition.

Star Gospel Mission and the city plan to sign a memorandum of understanding, with a tri-party agreement to follow. Many details are still being worked out, and the three groups are planning the move together.

“Our goal has always been to give our residents the most effective, lasting response we can,” Mayor William Cogswell said. “This is specialized work, and it should be led by the people who do it best. We’ve always said homelessness is a regional challenge that needs a regional response. Working with Star Gospel Mission moves us in that direction. Nobody in Charleston has done it longer or better than Star Gospel Mission. This shift is not just the right call for the city, it is the right call for the people who walk through those doors looking for help. They are going to get more of it.”

The organizations will share more as planning continues.