A ‘vital’ Norristown day shelter is racing to find its own new home

A lifeline for Montgomery County’s low-income and homeless residents is running out of time.

The Norristown Hospitality Center, a nonprofit day shelter offering free meals, showers, laundry, legal aid, and other services, must move out of its home by the end of January.

Last year, the Hospitality Center offered services to 1,400 people, roughly a third of whom lacked housing, according to executive director Sunanda Charles. No other similar day shelters offer the same array of services in the immediate area.

“The community would be losing a very vital resource,” Charles said.

The Hospitality Center, which opened in 1992, has been heading toward this inflection point since it vacated its home of over two decades at 530 Church St. by the end June 2025.

It arranged a six-month lease with the Senior Adult Activities Center of Montgomery County, originally set to expire on Dec. 31. The center was granted a one-month extension, but is still searching for its next temporary and permanent home.

The Hospitality Center’s search for a new location has been complicated by the organization’s needs and vocal NIMBYism.

The Hospitality Center’s longtime Church Street home was owned by St. John’s Episcopal Church, which notified the center in 2024 it needed to vacate the building because of concerns about the optics of visitors loitering outside. The notice came as a surprise, Charles said, but they were given a year to find their next location.

St. John’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Hospitality Center only shut down for three days as staff moved operations to the Senior Activities Center, but they knew this home would be temporary. Charles said the Senior Activities Center received funding for extensive renovations through the American Rescue Plan Act, which would expire if they don’t begin construction soon.

After a process of careful planning and community outreach, the Hospitality Center identified a new building at 336 E. Moore St. and entered a purchasing agreement for it in December 2024.

But doing so required a zoning variance request, which brought the matter before the Norristown Zoning Hearing Board in May. The proposed building was located in a residential area, which ignited the public. Norristown residents testified for hours both for and against the Hospitality Center’s move, with some speaking about the essential services the center provides, while others worried about those suffering from substance abuse loitering where their children are.

The board ultimately voted 2-1 against the center’s request.

“I get to see firsthand those who are truly living on the margins of the city of Norristown. It is extremely disappointing — the whole ‘not-in-my-backyard’ attitude — it’s disheartening,” the Rev. Andrea Gardner, board president of the Norristown Hospitality Center, told The Times Herald following the vote.

Charles said that the Hospitality Center has learned important lessons about the regulatory process and building community support from that experience as it searches for other options.

But most potential properties in Norristown would require a similar variance request or special exemption for the Hospitality Center to move in. When that time comes, Charles anticipates needing to argue again for the center’s existence in the heart of Norristown.

“These are people in the community. It is the community’s responsibility as well. Everyone can make a difference. And sometimes, the difference may be in the perspective of how you view people,” she said.

Until the Hospitality Center’s future is settled, Brian Van Scoyoc plans to keep spending every day there that he can.

Van Scoyoc, 54, has been homeless for about five years, since the Norristown home he shared with his ex-girlfriend caught fire and burned down. His ex had to pull him back from jumping into the blaze to rescue his dog, Loggie, who died in the fire.

“I got sort of displaced and didn’t know where to go or what to do,” he said.

He’s worked odd jobs here and there, spending his nights at a shelter or in a tent in the woods. But his visits to the Hospitality Center have been a welcome reprieve.

He comes for coffee and breakfast to start his day, a pleasant escape from the cold early mornings after the overnight shelter closes its doors. He enjoys the chance to chat, watch TV, and play games with the other visitors, and appreciates the center’s laundry and legal aid services. Having a place to plug in his phone and store his belongings in a locker are helpful too, he said.

Van Scoyoc recently picked up frostbite after spending a night in his tent when he believes he didn’t let his wet feet dry properly. It’s difficult and painful for him to walk, so the center has helped arranged rides for him to get around.

If the Hospitality Center were to close for an extended period time, Van Scoyoc said it would be a great distress.

“It’s a great place to be. You should go check it out,” he said.

As news has spread of the center’s plight, Charles said she’s received countless calls and emails from people who used its services in the past. They’ve expressed their support and gratitude, as well as their sadness at hearing that the center is up against the clock.

One voicemail in particular has kept Charles motivated. A woman who spent time at the center in 2009 called her to share that she has been sober since connecting them, and is no longer homeless. She said in her message: “God is going to do a wonderful thing for you. Stay in position,” according to Charles.

“We do believe there is a plan for us. And we are excited about it,” Charles said.