How We Serve

Urban Ministries of Durham serves emergency needs and rebuilds lives in many ways.

Our Community Shelter houses 81 beds for men, 30 for women, and 9 rooms, each with a private bath, for families. In emergency situations the shelter can house up to 175 people.

Our Community Kitchen serves 3 meals a day, 7 days a week, to shelter residents and anyone in need of a meal. Volunteers provide over 90% of the labor to prepare the meals and community partners donate over 90% of the food. We are currently serving an average of 500 meals per day.

Community Kitchen hours:

Breakfast: Weekdays 8 to 9, Weekends 9:30 to 10:15.

Lunch: Weekdays 11 to 12:30, Weekends 12:30 to 1:30

Dinner: Daily 7 to 7:45.

Our Food Pantry and Clothes Closet address basic emergency needs for food, clothing and hygiene supplies. When donated funds are available, limited financial assistance may be arranged. Typically on a monthly basis, we assist 350 to 400 individuals with food for in-home use, 180 to 220 people with clothing, and 2 to 3 households with emergency financial assistance.

Food Pantry and Clothes Closet hours:

Monday: Food Pantry only, 1:45 to 3:45.

Tuesday: Food Pantry & Clothing Closet, 1:45 to 3:45.

Wednesday: Clothing for Shelter Residents only, 1:00 to 2:00.

Thursday: Food Pantry & Clothing Closet, 1:45 to 3:45.

Friday/Saturday/Sunday: Closed

Addiction Recovery Programs for both men and women are offered and serve up to 30 men and 10 women at any one time. Our HOPE Recovery Program is a 6-month, live-in drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. For more information about the program, or to help out, please contact Leroy Joyner at (919) 682-0538 x32, or by email at ljoyner@umdurham.org.

Job Training is offered to graduates of UMD’s recovery programs to work in a unique commercial cleaning business. Workers are recruited based upon peer review and their personal accountability history in the recovery programs. In May, 2007, Jani-King of Raleigh/Durham donated $10,000, which enabled our successful Clean Sweep program to become a Jani-King franchise.