- Have you ever noticed an uncanny number of churches in small and rural towns with dwindling congregations, some of those churches even sitting vacant for years?

Well, you're not imagining it.

Half of all congregations in the US or in the South and attendance at many of these churches is declining.

But at the same time, homelessness is on the rise.

The US homeless population has swelled to over 750,000.

That's the highest since tracking began in 2007.

- I think, homelessness nationwide is starting to approach epidemic scale.

- [David Voiceover] Could these dwindling congregations have the answer to the housing crisis?

Could they use their available real estate to provide relief to those seeking shelter?

- We're here in Asheboro, North Carolina where they're doing something radical.

- When we all work together, this is what can happen.

- Instead of closing a dying church's doors, they're giving it new life, using it to serve the community.

But how did they do it?

Is it sustainable?

And can other communities make the same difference?

Let's find out.

[church bell ringing] Drive through any small southern town and you'll notice something interesting.

There's churches.

Lots of them.

Sometimes three or four on a single corner.

Beautiful buildings, rich with history, but increasingly empty.

- I remember when you just opened the doors and the church was filled.

That is not true anymore.

- [David Voiceover] But while churches sit empty, other spaces are filling up: parking lots, wooded areas, anywhere people without homes can find shelter.

- It's really tough to find a place to stay, especially when you have an eviction against you.

- [David] Beverly England and her daughter found themselves living in their car after an eviction.

Their options were limited.

- It was tough, 'cause there's nowhere here in Asheboro, you can really park without the law running you off.

- [David] This wasn't just one family story.

Throughout Asheboro, Reverend Linda Ferguson was encountering the same crisis.

- And I found that repeatedly, I would walk the streets to meet people, went out to some of the homeless camps, and we would find there would be children and women sleeping in cars.

- [David] Meanwhile, just a few miles away, Calvary United Methodist Church stood empty.

- [Linda] Calvary had been a such a vibrant Methodist church in this community for many years.

Lots of ministries, many hundreds of people there on Sunday mornings, just a very vibrant church.

But over the years it had declined, as a lot of churches do.

- [David] So a series of discussions took place involving church members, city and county leaders, and nonprofit officials.

They decided to repurpose the empty church to meet their community's greatest need: a shelter for women and children.

The building became Lydia's Place.

It opened first in the church's former fellowship hall with 12 beds for women and children experiencing homelessness.

- I have to say the easiest part of this, honestly, was getting support in the community and getting the funding we needed because the need was very clear and people here wanted to help.

- [David] What began as one church's vision, quickly grew into something much bigger: drawing support from across Asheboro.

- This is not a first United Methodist Church project, it is a community project.

- [David Voiceover] But as Lydia's Place began taking in residence, they faced a critical question: how do you turn temporary shelter into lasting stability?

Lydia's Place offers more than just a place to stay.

Case managers work with each family, connecting them to housing assistance, social services, and other resources they might need.

This can include help with finding jobs, arranging transportation, or securing childcare.

The approach aims to address the many issues that can lead to homelessness, helping residents build toward independence.

- It's more than just getting out of the cold or getting out of the heat.

It is about changing someone's life so that they can live a happy and productive life as God intends and wants for all people.

- [David] But even as Lydia's Place has grown from 12 beds to 48, they face another obstacle: finding affordable housing for those ready to leave the shelter.

- Right now, we're in a situation where a lot of the people that are here are from here, they want to live here, and we have no inventory of safe housing here.

- [David] Communities nationwide are exploring different approaches to this housing shortage.

Some convert church buildings into permanent supportive housing, others create temporary shelter spaces.

Some are even building tiny home communities on church grounds.

- You're taking people that are living on the street and have no home in their Lydia's Place and they're trying to get 'em on their feet.

- [David] In Asheboro, community leaders are finding their own solution.

They're renovating a vacant church-owned house once home to its pastor and an additional housing for residents of Lydia's Place.

- Even though it's only one house, it's a start.

And to provide a place for a nice family to live and transition from no home or possibly living in a car to their family living in a home.

- [David Voiceover] Beverly England and her daughter Victoria, hope to find a place of their own someday.

For now, Lydia's Place has become more than just a roof over their heads.

- Where do you think you would be if a place like this didn't exist?

- On the streets.

I'd be on the streets.

Right now, we're just in a hard place.

I'm just glad we have this.

It means a lot to me, because there's somebody there that doesn't look down on me, doesn't make me feel like I'm nothing.

I feel like I'm somebody in that group.

[gentle music] - [David] The repurposing of Calvary United Methodist Church into Lydia's Place represents a collaborative effort between members of the faith community and local leaders, illustrating one approach to addressing homelessness.

- We haven't done anything here that's rocket science.

We've worked together through the city and county government, churches and individuals to get at this problem.

And that's something that any community can do.

- [David] And at the end of the day, when one door was closing for the congregation, they opened another for the vulnerable in their community.

[gentle hopeful music] For ncIMPACT, I'm David Hurst.