In 2012, community and faith leaders responded to the critical need for winter emergency shelter in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, mobilizing congregations, community groups and civic organizations to create a multi-site seasonal shelter outreach in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County. City with Dwellings incorporated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit in 2017, connecting year-round with our vulnerable unhoused neighbors through street outreach, resource navigation, programming at the Community First Center, and supportive housing.
OUR STORY
City with Dwellings employs low-barrier strategies grounded in trauma-informed care, healing, and harm reduction that elevate the lived expertise of people experiencing homelessness. We build relationships with our unsheltered neighbors, providing the assistance and encouragement necessary for them to take steps toward health and housing stability. Staff and volunteers at our Community First Center connect our neighbors to shelter, housing, food, healthcare resources, and more.
CwD’s peer support specialists (certified professionals with lived experience of homelessness, mental health or substance use disorders) provide supportive services for highly vulnerable, newly-housed individuals who've experienced chronic homelessness. You’ve heard the saying, ‘it takes a village.’ At City with Dwellings, we believe ‘it takes a city’ to build community and end homelessness.
Right now, over 300 people are living on the streets of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, in places not fit for human habitation, such as cars, tent encampments, and abandoned buildings.
City with Dwellings is the primary resource for the unsheltered or “street” homeless community in Forsyth County, providing safe space, housing assistance, advocacy, transportation, and access to resources so that our most vulnerable neighbors can achieve housing stability.
Our mission is to assist people who are chronically homeless to find stable and secure housing. Our outreach staff builds trusting relationships with our unhoused neighbors through listening, personalized strategies, and supporting them in moving from trauma and homelessness toward healing, transforming, and thriving in an appropriate housing setting.
