Jan. 20, 2026
BY JOHN BAILEY
“We're not going to let you walk by yourself.”
Dytisha Watkins along with her daughter and granddaughter,
heard and felt this message throughout their four-month stay at The Salvation Army of Greater Hickory’s Shelter of Hope last year.
According to the NC Balance of State Continuum of Care Point in Time homeless count, there were 32 families with children facing homelessness in Catawba County in 2025.
A core focus of the Catawba County United Way is to address the issue of housing instability, and for more than a decade that has meant helping to fund The Salvation Army’s 75-bed emergency shelter.
At the beginning of last year, Dytisha was living with her parents, helping to pay their household bills but the passing of both her mother and father and then a brother created an insurmountable financial crisis.
Eventually, the house had to be sold to address the mounting debt, and without the financial resources to move into an apartment, the family was facing homelessness.
Fortunately, a case worker connected Dytisha to Carrie Workman at The Salvation Army who found space for them at the Shelter of Hope.
“I was at a point where I just didn’t know what to do,” Dytisha said. “It gave me piece of mind, knowing that I had somewhere safe for my daughter and grandbaby.”
Workman, a Case Management Specialist at the shelter said the path to transitioning into permanent housing starts with meeting with families and figuring out what resources they need. This could be any combination of programs from nonprofits like Safe Harbor, Women’s Resource Center or the Family Care Center.
“I’m just helping them connect those dots that they may not know are in the community, and then walking with them through that process,” Workman said.
In June, the Watkins found out the Family Care Center had an apartment open for them in the agency’s transitional housing program for families. The Women’s Resource Center helped to cover the deposit.
“I was so grateful for everyone who never stopped fighting for us,” Dytisha’s daughter, Victoria, said. “They pushed us to the door that led to the next journey in life, guiding us in the right way.”
Victoria eventually qualified for a Section 8 housing voucher, and ten months after losing their house, the Watkins family was finally able to move into a new, permanent home of their own, a journey that started the moment they entered The Shelter of Hope.
“Don’t give up. You’ll find people who will be by your side,” Victoria said. “You can have down days, but don’t stop, keep on going because some doors are going to open and some doors are going to shut in your face, but another door is always going to be there…just keep fighting.”
Read previous United Way stories about the impact of Family Care Center and Women’s Resource Center:.
Family Care Center - https://www.ccunitedway.com/news/family-care-center-provides-hope-families-facing-homelessness
Women's Resource Center - https://www.ccunitedway.com/news/womens-resource-center-provides-lifeline-during-crisis