Hope Mission details expansion across eastern North Carolina, $5 million grant and new 40‑bed recovery facility

John Sauerkeys, a representative of Hope Mission of Coastal Carolina, told the Craven County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 15 that the nonprofit is expanding recovery, reentry and clinical services across eastern North Carolina and has secured a $5,000,000 grant from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and Trillium Health Resources to build a new facility.

Hope Mission’s work "provides wrap around services," Sauerkeys said, describing meals, shelter, recovery housing, peer‑support outreach and clinical programming that the organization now runs in multiple counties.

The expansion matters because Hope Mission says it is moving services into counties the group calls resource deserts — including Carteret, Pamlico, Jones, Onslow, Beaufort, Martin and Currituck — and plans to centralize clinical staff in a single facility in New Bern. The nonprofit described programming targeted at veterans, people leaving incarceration, and people with substance use and mental health needs.

Hope Mission reported program statistics for fiscal year to August: its community kitchen delivered 38,308 meals; Meals on Wheels provided daily hot meals to 95 clients; the organization distributed about $19,000 in emergency financial assistance to 72 individuals; its thrift store served 111 families; shelter services provided roughly 1,300 nights of transitional shelter; and more than 1,100 volunteers contributed more than 17,000 hours. Sauerkeys said Hope Mission’s "peers on the beach" anti‑stigma outreach had contact with more than 2,000 people and resulted in over 100 referral services.

Sauerkeys described new clinical services brought online this year, including licensed addiction specialists, social workers and mental‑health counselors offering psychotherapy, outpatient substance use treatment and plans for substance abuse intensive outpatient programming (SAIOP) and comprehensive outpatient treatment once state licensing completes. "We took our main office building, and we're in the process of getting it licensed through the state," he said.

The nonprofit also described a reentry focus that places peer support specialists into prisons six months before release and follows clients for 12 months after release, work intended to connect people to housing, benefits and treatment. Sauerkeys gave an example of a client for whom Hope Mission and local partners successfully pursued a veterans’ benefits upgrade with a review board and local veterans service officers.

Sauerkeys said Hope Mission will demolish its Bridges Street soup kitchen site and begin construction in December on a new 40‑bed facility that will include six additional homes for homeless veterans and a second‑floor clinical department and peer living room resource center accessible free of charge. The group gave an 18‑month window for construction, with demolition beginning in December and work starting in January.

Commissioners asked about the organization’s staffing and whether expansion risked outpacing capacity. Sauerkeys said Hope Mission has expanded hiring, subcontracted peer positions into partner counties and that about 80 percent of current staff are program graduates; the remainder are external hires. He said the organization is building an infrastructure of peer specialists, licensed clinicians, drivers and house managers to support growth.

The nonprofit described two respite houses (one in Swansboro, one in New Bern) for licensed mental‑health and substance‑use staff and peer workers to use free of charge for short stays, plus telehealth, supported employment partnerships with NCWorks and reentry councils, and a planned community support team expected to be operational January 2026.

Hope Mission plans a one‑day symposium and other public events to raise awareness. The organization also said it is pursuing Medicaid/Medicare and LME/managed‑care partnerships to expand service reimbursement and sustainability.

Construction planning and grant administration are next steps; Sauerkeys said state licensing and permit steps remain before SAIOP and similar programs are available. "We will start demo in December and start construction in January," he said.

The commissioners did not take a formal vote on Hope Mission’s presentation; the item was an informational briefing.