A new community resource center recently opened in Charlotte’s Hoskins neighborhood.
A Brighter Day Outreach, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting residents of the west side neighborhood, opened the space earlier this month.
The center – located inside a 1,095-square-foot house at 510 Sinclair Street – was opened with the goal of connecting residents to much-needed resources, including housing needs, food assistance and internet and technology access, Beverly Knox, president of A Brighter Day Outreach, said.
Knox told QCity Metro the Hoskins community needed a place to gather.
“We just needed somewhere where we can all come together,” Knox said.
The center was purchased for $225,000 by an anonymous donor.
The center features a meditation room and computer lab for residents to use at their leisure.
The spacious backyard will feature a shed, built by the vice president of A Brighter Day Outreach, Frankie Knox Sr., and may be used for events like movie nights.
Classes on how to use technology, like computers and phones, will also be offered to residents.
“Anyone that does not know how to turn a computer on, we’ll have classes,” Knox Sr. said. “It doesn’t matter what the age is, they can come in and learn how to do that, and then take it further.”
The space can host around 20 people at a time. Though relatively small, Knox said it was important for the nonprofit to have a physical space within the neighborhood.
“We just needed a home right here where people felt comfortable coming, and whatever their needs are [they] know, 510 Sinclair Street is [their] spot,” Knox said.
Neighborhood associations, like the Historic Hoskins Neighborhood Coalition, and local nonprofits will also be able to use the center as a meeting space.
Knox said the center will utilize community partners to connect residents to local assistance programs.
Some of those nonprofits include For The Struggle, which helps seniors with home repairs, and Freedom Communities, a nonprofit that tackles housing, employment, education, health and wellness for families.
The space will be free for residents to use during its open hours, but appointments may be needed to ensure the appropriate organizations will be at the center when the resident is.
Many of the center’s future programs are still in development, but the nonprofit has big plans ahead, Knox told QCity Metro.
Currently, the nonprofit is in the process of opening a food pantry and adding a toiletry cabinet along with a washer and dryer to the space for the community to use.
Eventually, Knox said, the nonprofit might offer classes in the residential kitchen on healthy cooking.
The resource center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays and from noon to five on Wednesdays and Fridays.
