The call is going out to organizations in Richmond County who deal with homelessness to participate in a new group which could hold the purse strings for funding in the future.

A March 3 meeting of a coalition of groups from a four-county area is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Cole Auditorium, and offers a seat at the table to any organization working to address homelessness.

The coalition is made up of groups from Anson, Richmond, Moore and Montgomery (ARMM) counties, and will look for ways to bolster cooperation and offer expanded services to the homeless throughout the region.

ARMM’s members include community development specialists, interfaith shelters, non-profits, for-profit service providers, churches, domestic violence shelters, public housing authorities, private citizens and social service agencies.

Former Rockingham Housing Authority Interim Director Jim McCaskill serves as the coalition’s vice chairman. He explained ARMM has been meeting since September and will administer funding for homelessness programs beginning in the fall.

“When grant applications are made, beginning in August or September, this committee will handle them, and any organization that is interested in participating or supports homelessness or shelter programs in any way can become involved,” McCaskill said. “What we’re beginning to do now is broadcast for participation from organizations.”

ARMM Coordinator Tim Emmert said the group was recently reconstituted with new membership, and “since then things have been moving really quickly.”

He said the March meeting is a regular monthly meeting, which rotates between locations in the four counties.

It is intended to create a spirit of cooperation, and identify projects for a grant application to the state.

“We’ve got a lot of different organizations interested in addressing homelessness in the four counties, and the money on the table from (the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) is something we need to take advantage of,” Emmert said. “The good thing is, we’re attracting a lot of attention.”

He said the group has even been contacted by organizations in Hoke County who are interested in becoming the fifth county to partner with the effort.

“We’re going out and getting prepared now, and when the grant announcement comes, we hope to have projects already identified and ready to go,” Emmert said.

He said the primary funding agency for these projects is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Across Richmond County, the call has gone out on many occasions for a domestic violence shelter or one for women and children. New Horizons: Life and Family Services discontinued shelter services here in October 2008.

The Baker House in Rockingham shelters men from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. during the winter months. The shelter is operated by the Richmond County Mental Health Society, which also operates the Rockingham and Hamlet soup kitchens.

“Yes, there is definitely a need (for expanded services),” Mental Health Society Chairman John Baker said.

He said the group often fields the question why the shelter isn’t provided year-round, and in short the answer is the lack of resources.

“I think there is also a legitimate need for a place for women and children, but we simply can’t do it with the limited resources we have,” Baker said. “If another group is able to provide it, we would support them in any way we could.”

As for grant opportunities for the Mental Health Society, Baker said there is funding available.

“But most of the grants we have seen are for construction or starting up a new facility,” he said. “There is very little available for the on-going operation of a shelter.”

Those interested in learning more before attending the meeting can view the group’s Web site at www.ncceh.org/bos/armm/, or contact Interim Membership Chairwoman Wanda Feldt for a welcome packet at wandaf@sandhillscenter.org.

Staff Writer Philip D. Brown can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ext. 32, or by e-mail at pbrown@yourdailyjournal.com.