CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Construction crews are breathing new life into Caldwell Presbyterian Church.

What You Need To Know

  • Caldwell Presbyterian Church in Charlotte encourages others to follow its lead in addressing homelessness

  • Representatives of 60 churches attended the Brick by Brick affordable housing summit at Caldwell Presbyterian on Saturday

  • Easter's Home on Caldwell Presbyterian's property is getting transformed into 21 studio apartments for people who've experienced homelessness

A building on church property that previously was used as an emergency women's shelter and preschool is getting transformed into permanent housing for Charlotteans without a home.

Just feet away from where he delivers sermons every week, the Rev. John Cleghorn is now using this space to shed light on the Charlotte area’s more than 3,000 unhoused individuals.

“Part of it is debunking those myths, understanding that these people lead real lives,” he said. “And their lives are almost impossible, unless they have some sort of housing.”

The 21 studio apartments for low-income residents earning between 30% and 50% of the area median income will be called Easter’s Home.

Cleghorn says the Queen City has been leading the charge to address the nationwide crisis for a long time.

“Our project, we’ve been working on it for 10 years here at Caldwell Presbyterian, but there are churches that in Charlotte were doing this in the ’80s, ’90s and the early 2000s,” he said. “And so each project inspires the next church to say this is possible.”

Some Charlotte leaders focused on addressing the housing crisis — like developer DreamKey Partners — came together to make this project possible. Roof Above will provide case management to the people living at Easter’s Home.

Now they’re hoping to encourage other churches to take the same path with this weekend’s Brick by Brick affordable housing summit.

“We hope to inspire other churches that are just beginning to think about this — that it’s possible,” Cleghorn said.

The National Institutes of Health report the average age of death for a homeless man is about 56 and 52 for homeless women. That’s more than 17 years younger than the lifespan for the general population.

Cleghorn says they’re giving the city’s homeless another chance.

“At the very least, we’re saving lives,” he said.

New residents are expected to move into Easter’s Home at the beginning of 2025.

To learn more about the project and the meaning behind the name Easter’s Home, check out Caldwell Presbyterian Church’s website.