After a decade leading Durham's primary homeless shelter, Sheldon Mitchell is stepping down. Homelessness in Durham is worse now than when he started, he told INDY Week, driven by the pandemic, economic crises, and a steady rise in people affected by substance abuse and untreated mental illness.
Mitchell leaves Urban Ministries of Durham on May 1 to become CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle. The nonprofit he's leaving shelters nearly 850 people a year and feeds about 6,000 community members. Three meals a day, every day.
The work isn't finished. During Mitchell's tenure, Urban Ministries navigated pandemic shutdowns, funding cuts, and the city's ongoing strategic plan to end homelessness. A day shelter is still in the pipeline, one that would offer basic needs support and job programs to homeless Durham residents. Mitchell said the strategic plan has done the right work. It identified needs, gaps, and priorities. But the community now has to follow through with the funding to match.
He also pushed back on how people outside the shelter system tend to think about homelessness. Every situation is different, he said, and many people may be closer to that situation than they want to believe.
Mitchell's departure leaves Urban Ministries without a director as the city works to build out that day shelter. He helped shape it. He won't see it through.