Community Update

Dear Friends of Room In The Inn,

As summer winds down and families prepare for the back-to-school season, we’re also looking ahead with gratitude and anticipation as we prepare to open our doors for the 17th season of OBX Room In The Inn. This fall, we’ll once again come together to provide food, shelter, and clothing for our neighbors in need.

During the 2024–25 season, thanks to the incredible support of 20 churches and 143 dedicated volunteers, we were able to offer 1,643 nights of shelter and serve 4,935 meals. The average guest was 48 years old, a reminder that homelessness can affect people at any stage of life.

We strive to unite the community to end homelessness, one life at a time. As part of uniting the community, we open our doors wide to welcome those we serve, our volunteers, and our donors. We value that we are united in common purpose to meet the basic needs of fellow humans and to walk with people in need.

We appreciate that many of you have reached out to see how our work is impacted by recent changes, or potential changes, with funding. We thought it might also be helpful to share some of the principles that will guide us as we communicate with our RITI community about what is happening around us.

We believe our work is part of the public good. We believe in the concept of a public good — there are certain things that are core to the well-being of a community that are only possible through collective action. Our goal is that if someone finds themselves in a housing crisis, there is a safety net that allows their basic needs to be met.

We value being good stewards of resources. We are not opposed to efficiency or change. We believe there are ways to reimagine how services are provided, funded, and want to listen to both data and to those most impacted by this work to guide us.

We have a unique responsibility to speak to our mission. While we may hold opinions on a variety of topics, but we will work to provide accurate information regarding impact to those we serve and to our work.

How is OBX Room In the Inn funded?

Room in the Inn has four primary sources of funding: private giving, grant funding, events, and in-kind donations. In 2024-25 budget ending June 30 private giving made up about 51% of our yearly budget, grant funding contributes nearly 16%, events contributed over 9%, and in-kind gifts of food, clothing, supplies supported over 24% of our budget need.

There is a way for everyone to help us in our mission! We cannot thank enough the twenty churches, individuals, companies, and supporters across the OBX that provided hot meals, needed supplies, monetary donations, and support that was invaluable to us during our 2024-25 season. If you or your church might be interested in supporting the efforts, we are having our Church Coordinator meeting in September. Respond to this email or call 252-255-1133 for more information and join us!

Thank you!

Together, by joining our team and volunteers, public and private funders, we can show up for our neighbors in a housing crisis. We believe this work makes a difference not just for those we serve, but for the entire community. Thank you for being part of this work!

In Gratitude,

Shari Fiveash, President/CEO