The largest public homeless shelter serving Durham is facing financial headwinds. But the director of Urban Ministries of Durham (UMD) says services will continue and may even expand.
Last month UMD lost two federal grants, one from FEMA and one from the USDA. The loss of the grants combined with other economic pressures, like the rising cost of ingredients and a decrease in donations, forced the shelter to cut the budget by ten percent and lay off seven full and part-time employees.
Roughly 40 people remain employed by UMD, and services are not being cut, according to Executive Director Sheldon Mitchell…