KNIGHTDALE, N.C. — Homelessness rose 19% across the state from 2023 to 2024, according to an assessment report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
That’s why the Raleigh Rescue Mission said they made the effort to open The Garden.
It’s a campus for women and children, and the campus is set to increase the capacity five-fold, according to the organization. With a planned location at 5200 Knightdale Eagle Rock Rd, the campus’ price tag is around $25 million.
John Luckett’s life didn’t start out easy.
“My life now is totally, was totally different than, what I grew up in Mississippi,” John Luckett, the President and CEO of Raleigh Rescue Mission, said.
Luckett explained how he first grew up in poverty, but later saw how others entered his life to help time and time again.
“I saw someone step into another person’s life with nothing to gain. No matter of fact, more retribution than anything else and make a difference,” Luckett said.
Luckett said he has worked many jobs in his life giving back. It’d range from making sandwiches, to providing more long-term solutions for people from different walks of life, including those struggling from homelessness.
“I think that’s the surprise that most people don’t realize is that, the majority of people who are experiencing homelessness are really, ashamed, frustrated. They want to get back into the mainstream,” Luckett said.
He said those in need are really looking for a network, which is what the Raleigh Rescue Mission has created. That includes their “New Life Plan”.
Through the plan, members are mentored, employed and helped be placed in their own space, all for long-term success.
Luckett stated that approximately 1,600 people inquire about the program yearly, while their current facility’s capacity is about 400 people per year.
“We need a bigger facility. We can’t continue to turn away from 1,200 people a year and only serve 400. So we start a capital campaign, to see if our community would need a feasibility for our community,” Luckett explained.
That motivation prompted the creation of The Garden, a $25 million women and children’s campus in Knightdale expecting to house 300 to 350 people a night.
“If we don’t seize the moment now, we can get out of control like you see some of those other cities, because there’s a window of opportunity that you can actually impact this,” Luckett said.
The campus will have child learning spaces, family suites, a dining, hall, salon, garden, playground and more. All to aid those completing the New Life Program.
“Our clients are getting jobs. They’re getting cars, (they) are getting, housing,” Luckett said.
Daneyh Glyes-King, a participant of the New Life Plan, hopes to become a Detention Officer after working security.
“It makes me feel real good, because this is my first time actually seeing people do what they actually going to say they’re going to do,” Gyles-King said.
The Raleigh Rescue Mission expects The Garden, to serve over 2,500 individuals experiencing situational homelessness by 2027.
“We’re talking about changing a generation of people. So that number is in the millions, really, when you think about what they are doing,’ Luckett said.
Construction is expected to be finished by July 1, 2026.