Gastonia and partners report 61 warming‑center days, say outreach led to housing and health connections

City staff and community partners presented an end‑of‑season report to the Gastonia City Council on April 21 for the 2025–26 warming‑center operation at Unity Baptist Church, saying the temporary facility opened for 61 days and provided intake, meals and overnight shelter when temperatures dipped below 32 degrees.

Assistant City Manager Quentin McFadder told the council the overall anticipated cost of operating the program was "just over $99,000," with the city authorizing $10,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds and other budget amendments to cover janitorial services and meal costs. He said staff approved additional positions — an occupational services coordinator and a volunteer coordinator — by budget amendment to support operations.

Crystal Walls, executive director of Health Net Gaston, outlined operational details and human outcomes. "We were able to do assessments — 32 assessments," she said, and added that the warming‑center team scheduled 23 primary‑care appointments and 26 behavioral‑health appointments during the season. Walls also reported that staff connected people to detox and to workforce development; the presentation said six people from one family were ultimately housed and additional individuals were connected to food, medical care and other services.

Staff described a change in security approach from prior seasons: a private security firm provided incident management inside the facility while local police departments continued to perform safety checks and respond to calls outside. Walls said security recorded roughly 10 on‑site security incidents and the operation had five police service requests; the center also recorded several medical transports to hospitals.

Council and staff discussed data limitations. When Councilwoman Dreier asked for the unduplicated number of people served, staff said volunteers sometimes logged guests under different names and that only duplicated counts were available. "We didn't keep track of the unduplicated count because individuals sometimes use different names," city staff said.

Walls and other presenters underscored the role of volunteers and community partners in sustaining operations, and described lessons learned — including the need for improved trash removal plans, clearer sick‑guest protocols and plans for overflow and hotel placements during acute weather. "It highlighted need to balance rules with empathy and it exposed gaps in long term support systems," Walls said.

The council did not take further formal action during the presentation beyond questions; McFadder and staff said funding allocations and budget amendments for the season had been processed earlier in the fiscal cycle. The presentation concluded with council praise for volunteers and partner churches and agencies.