The shelter on Alexander Street shut down in April 2025 after facing financial and operational challenges. Now, under the direction of Majors Jason and Angela Hughes, the facility is preparing to welcome residents again with upgraded amenities and renewed community partnerships.
"This community needed a shelter," said Major Jason Hughes, director of the Fayetteville Salvation Army shelter. "Over the last few months, we've been negotiating and partnering with different groups to help the Salvation Army get it up and running again."
The shelter costs nearly $1 million a year to operate and will offer more than 62 beds for families, women with children, and single adults. In addition to housing, the shelter will provide daily breakfast, lunch, and dinner to members of the community, along with laundry services.
Hughes said the improvements are designed to address both physical and emotional needs.
"From health to sanitation and just morale, they'll be able to experience dignity in the world they encounter," he said.
For Nelson Montañez, a Fayetteville resident who has experienced homelessness and now volunteers at the shelter, the reopening is deeply personal.
"This place is so important for the homeless and for people like me," Montañez said.
With tears in his eyes, Montañez recalled staying at the shelter after moving from city to city during difficult periods in his life. He first arrived in 2015 and returned again in 2023.
"If this place weren't open, I would not know where I would be," he said. "There's not a lot of shelters here."
Montañez said he does not want to remain homeless and hopes to continue working toward stability.
"Being homeless is not something I want to be," he said. "I want to have a job. I want to work."
Now, as the shelter prepares to reopen, Montañez volunteers during the morning shift, cleaning bathrooms and showers. He said volunteering gives him a renewed sense of purpose.
"In 2015, I volunteered for the Salvation Army, hoping to get a job one day," he said, becoming emotional.
The Salvation Army said city and county leaders have pledged funding to help keep the shelter open for at least one year, easing concerns about its immediate future.
Hughes acknowledged the work of previous administrators, noting they continued providing services until the shelter was forced to close.
"They did everything they could to move the Salvation Army forward and address the needs of the community," he said.