Holding check from left to right are Katrina Knight, executive director for GSC, and Jama Campbell, executive director for the SECU Foundation, surrounded by local and regional SECU and SECU Foundation representatives. (Credit/SECU)
According to the North Carolina Housing Coalition, the number of people experiencing homelessness in the state rose from 2,558 in 2020 to 3,625 in 2022. Thanks to a $2 million grant from the SECU Foundation, the charitable arm of the $50.6 billion, Raleigh, N.C.-based SECU, some of those people will soon have a roof over their heads.
The SECU Foundation announced that the challenge grant was awarded to the Good Shepherd Center (GSC) in Wilmington, N.C., and will be used for the construction of a new 32-unit permanent supportive housing facility to assist veterans, seniors and persons with disabilities battling chronic homelessness.
This is not the first time the SECU Foundation has committed funds for the purpose of housing the homeless – in 2016, GSC developed the SECU Lakeside Reserve in Wilmington, a transitional housing facility for homeless adults. GSC has been providing food, shelter and transitional housing resources to homeless individuals for over 40 years.
"Good Shepherd Center has been a tremendous catalyst in providing housing solutions to address homelessness and ensure the area's most vulnerable populations have access to a stable environment and the support they need," SECU Foundation Executive Director Jama Campbell stated. "We are honored to help this organization take a significant step forward in the fight to end homelessness, and we hope that our challenge grant will inspire others to lend their support to an effort that is making such a positive difference for North Carolinians."
"We are both humbled and inspired by SECU Foundation's incredible generosity," GSC Executive Director Katrina Knight added. "It is not merely an investment in Good Shepherd Center's plans to create more permanent supportive housing, it is quite literally an investment to end the housing crisis for our most fragile neighbors, chronically homeless individuals with disabilities. We could not be more grateful for the Foundation's support, vision and leadership!"
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Natasha Chilingerian
Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.
