Homeless shelter gets new bathrooms, sees boost in donations

One of Selma’s first homeless shelters opened in November, but the facility only had one bathroom for the 25 maximum residents.

Organizer John Grayson had an idea: ask the nonprofit Samaritan’s Purse to help add bathrooms after they finished working on homes damaged by the January 2023 tornado.

And they approved the project.

Along with Mennonite volunteers, construction crews are almost finished putting in showers and building out bedrooms in a shed behind the shelter that will serve as housing for homeless families.

Grayson, who is also pastor of Gospel Tabernacle, said the residents have been showering at partner Edmundite Missions until the bathrooms work.

“We can’t help but have compassion for (the residents). They are not forgotten citizens,” Grayson told the Rotary Club of Selma on Monday.

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The Winston Williams Homeless Shelter, named for the Selma pastor and coach who passed away last year, has received many donations from area churches and had several volunteer groups donate time to help feed residents.

The shelter is open overnights and often needs more volunteers to stay with residents, Grayson said. When residents come, they get a meal and a cot in the rooms separated for the men and women. They get fresh clothes and clean bedding. Their clothes get laundered two days a week, he said.

“A bowl of soup and cup of hot coffee is like giving them $1 million,” Grayson said.

Volunteer Keisha Wright, who lives nearby, said she takes donations throughout the day and loves being there for those in need of a good meal and place to sleep.

“There’s no place I’d rather be than here to help people,” Wright said.

Organizers also have partnered with organizations to help them sign up to get their GED, find a job, get help through Edmundite Mission and Cahaba Mental Health, Grayson said. They also work with residents to help them reconnect with family with a goal of finding them more stable housing.