Helen Wright Center for Women: Building a Foundation for Independence

Our mission, made possible through community support, is to ensure single adult women experiencing homelessness have a safe place to rebuild, regain dignity, and achieve stable housing and long-term self-sufficiency.

Two volunteers helping with dinner at the women's shelter

How We Serve

More than an emergency shelter, the Helen Wright Center for Women (HWCW) is the only low-barrier facility in Wake County dedicated exclusively to serving single adult women without custody of children experiencing homelessness. Operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, we provide safe shelter, essential services, and workforce development in a supportive, goal-oriented environment that empowers women to move from homelessness to stable housing and long-term self-sufficiency.

Our Program

We provide intensive, goal-focused programs designed to remove barriers to housing and employment, grounded in the evidence-based Housing First model. We do not provide emergency drop-in shelter.

Core Principles of the Housing First Model:

  • Immediate access to housing with no readiness requirements
  • Consumer choice and self-determination
  • Recovery-oriented and trauma-informed care
  • Individualized, voluntary supportive services
  • Social and community integration
How to Access the Helen Wright Center for Women
*HWCW is not an emergency drop-in shelter, intake is on a referral basis through Wake County’s Coordinated Entry (CE).*
Pharmacist sorting white prescription pill bottles on a counter in a pharmacy.
Need Emergency Drop-in Shelter Assistance?
outside of the women's shelter

Support Women.
Transform Lives.

We’re only able to do what we do because of those who get involved.

Computer lab at the women's shelter