02/01/2026
Rates at the Econo Lodge are going up. We’ve placed 5 peoples in rooms over the last 2 weeks and we can’t say it enough.
Living out of a hotel is unsustainable.
$75/night x 30 nights = $2250 a month!
Weekly rate of $350 = $1575 a month (4.5 weeks)
The Louie Studio Apartments (old OYO/Maple Hotel) has base rate starting at $750/month + $195 full utilities fee (power water internet trash). Accepts section 8. Depending on credit check deposits can range from $300 to 1.5 base rent. Verifying income can be as easy at speaking with your employer. And they have current availability!
This year’s winter weather has been the most brutal. Burington is making progress with shelters (both warming and full time). Mercy and Grace Outreach Ministry is officially on the map now with Allied Churches of Alamance County but we encounter folks who have their whole livelihood in their hotel rooms but run out of money due to the high cost. In the moment $75 is affordable to them. At first even $350/week because they may have that much on them at that time. But long term- there’s no plan and crisis occurs. And the shelters can’t house everything they own.
It’s hard. There is alot of times underlying mental health issues. Combine that with substance use and it gets even more challenging to survive this way.
What I can tell you though is we never have been able to convince anyone to seek a better way by belittling them. Instead we treat them as a human being and not by the addiction they may struggle with. There is love, and there is truth. Together that is tough. For both our ministry and the individual on the receiving end.
Working with the unhoused, addiction and those in recovery community is not easy. If mental health was a quick 7 - 10 day fix we wouldn’t be in the crisis we are now.
I truly believe getting into a support system- a community- whether it be a weekly meeting or daily sessions somewhere can help stop the spiral. It could be showing up at our Revival class on Wednesdays, Celebrate Recovery on Thursdays, local NA/AA meetings, sessions at RHA, church on Sundays, Alamance Dream Center activities, you get the idea. But for alot of individuals that’s harder to do than stopping the drug use or behaior pattern. Why? Mental health. That’s the simplest way to put it.
Our minds can’t become resilient alone.
My hope is that as our county continues to make progress with programs like Recovery Court, that our shelters and local resources for community/peer support including sober living housing grows. And then we will see even more individuals get into long term sustainable recovery.
If you’re looking for som**hing different I invite you to come sweat with us for free on Wednesday nights at 630pm. We workout, and then circle up to talk it out. We also have a sweat equity program that feeds into our daily Hope City CrossFit classes, so you can continue on your new health journey without worrying about costs!
Essentials, harm reduction supplies, sleeping bags and tents are also available at classes.
If you or if you know someone yourself that is in need, please reach out! We are not active daily on social media, so text is the best!
3363808196
-Hodge
