Outer Banks Room In The Inn (RITI) provides seasonal overnight shelter for adults experiencing homelessness. Our goal is to provide a safe, structured, and welcoming environment while connecting guests with resources and support.
The shelter program begins in November and extends until the end of April. If you know a person who needs refuge, a warm bed, food, or assistance with other services, please have them contact us.
Intake is held seven days a week from 4:00–5:30 PM at the:
RITI Intake Center
111 W. Carlton Avenue
Kill Devil Hills, NC
Map & Directions
Anyone needing overnight shelter should arrive at the Intake Center at 4:00 PM. Beds are available on a first-come, first-served basis and are not held or reserved.
All guests must complete the intake process before being transported to the shelter. Guests are required to:
RITI is a drug-and alcohol-free shelter. All incoming guests are drug screened as part of the initial intake process. Additional drug screenings may be conducted randomly throughout a guest’s stay.
At approximately 5:30 PM each day, all guests are breathalyzed and must register a 0.0 to be transported to the shelter.
For the safety of our guests and staff, individuals are not eligible for shelter if they:
All belongings are searched before shelter entry. Weapons are prohibited and will be confiscated if found. Guests who successfully complete the intake process, background check, drug screening, and breathalyzer test may bring one bag of personal belongings to the shelter. At approximately 6:00 PM, eligible guests are transported by RITI to our overnight shelter facility in Nags Head.
Upon arrival, guests are provided with:
Once a guest arrives at the shelter for the evening, they may not leave the facility.
Guests are welcome to spend the evening relaxing and preparing for the following day. Lights out is at 11:00 PM.
In the morning, guests wake up & are provided breakfast. They also have the opportunity to prepare a sack lunch to take with them for the day.
All guests are transported back to the Intake Center by 8:00 AM.
From 8:00–10:00 AM, guests may remain at the Intake Center to have coffee or breakfast and meet with staff. This time provides an opportunity to discuss individual needs, receive case management assistance, and connect with available community resources and services.
All guests must leave the Intake Center property by 10:00 AM. The property remains closed to guests from 10:00 AM–4:00 PM, when the next daily intake period begins.
RITI operates on a daily intake model. Beds are not held from one night to the next. Guests seeking shelter must return for intake each day, and beds are provided on a first-come, first-served basis.
These procedures help RITI maintain a safe, sober, respectful environment for our guests, staff, volunteers, and community partners while providing individuals experiencing homelessness with shelter and access to supportive services.
All guests entering OBX Room In The Inn are initially provided with a 30-day stay. Our program is designed to provide more than a temporary place to sleep. The goal is to help guests use their time at RITI to establish structure, address immediate needs, connect with resources, and begin moving toward greater stability and permanent housing.
Guests who obtain employment during their initial 30-day stay may be permitted to remain in the program beyond the 30-day limit for as long as needed, provided they continue meeting program requirements and actively working toward stability and housing.
Employed guests are required to verify their employment on a weekly or bi-weekly basis by providing documentation such as:
Allowing employed guests additional time in the shelter gives them an opportunity to establish a consistent work routine, save money, address financial barriers, and work toward securing stable housing rather than returning immediately to homelessness.
Guests who are able to work but are not actively seeking employment are limited to the initial 30-day stay.
At the end of the 30 days, the guest must exit the shelter program for a minimum of two weeks. This allows RITI to make limited shelter beds available to other individuals in the community who may also be experiencing homelessness and need assistance.
After the two-week period, the individual may return for another 30-day stay if a bed is available. Beds are not guaranteed and remain available on a first-come, first-served basis.
RITI recognizes that not every guest is immediately able to obtain employment. Individual circumstances, health concerns, disabilities, transportation barriers, and other challenges may affect a person’s ability to work.
Guests who are unable to work will be expected, when reasonably able, to complete five hours of volunteer service each week. Volunteering provides an opportunity to maintain structure & routine, develop connections, and give back to the community that provides tremendous support to RITI and its guests.
The purpose of RITI is not simply to provide a bed. Our goal is to help individuals move forward.
Through shelter, structure, routine, accountability, case management, employment support, connections to healthcare and community resources, and opportunities to save money, we work alongside our guests as they take steps toward greater independence.
Success will look different for every person. For some, the first step may be finding employment. For others, it may be obtaining identification, addressing healthcare needs, connecting with benefits, establishing transportation, or resolving other barriers that have made it difficult to move forward.
RITI provides the safe environment and support needed to begin taking those steps while encouraging every guest to actively participate in their own path toward stability and housing.
