By Zach Cooley
The Open-Door Community, formerly Helping Overcome Poverty Existence, has become the crux of Wytheville’s reputation as a caring community. With spring here, Executive Director Jordan Stidham offered insight into new housing projects in the works within the organization.
“We are breaking ground on a 12-unit townhome development and a quadplex, both located in the town of Wytheville,” he explained. “We are also working on the early development of a 32-unit apartment, also in Wytheville. Along with our multi-family developments, we are applying for a grant that would allow us to rehabilitate older houses in the area and sell them to first time homebuyers.”
Of course, a great deal of work is involved in making these building ready for occupancy.
“Our 12-unit townhome development has started with grading and cutting in the entrances,” noted Stidham. “We hope this one will be done in 18 months. Our quadplex should start moving dirt around the end of March, we hope for this one to be done by September of this year. Our 32-unit development is in the planning and funding stage. We hope to break ground on it at the end of 2025.”
Winters are tough in Wythe County. However, few of us know just how cruel winter can be without heated roofs over our heads. Open Door went the extra mile this winter to see that everyone in Wythe County remained warm throughout the winter.
“We generally look at instances of shelter,” Stidham elaborated. “So, we look at each room per night as an instance. Often, we have people who will use the shelter program several nights back-to-back, couples in one room, etc. and for this reason we track each room per night as an instance of shelter. So far this winter, we have provided approximately 1,541 instances of shelter.”
Of course, such herculean efforts do not come without their share of learning experiences.
“With our warming shelter, there were several operational adjustments we made as we went,” Stidham recalled. “Like moving the check in time up and streamlining the actual check in process.”
That being said, Open Door has hosted a number of very successful events throughout the past year, as a result of their rebranding, which also refurbished community events.
“Each year, we have four major fundraisers,” Stidham pointed out. “We have the Harvest Fest at the end of September, which is a big music festival. We have the Stuffed Strut 5K on Thanksgiving to raise money for the café.”
Of most notable recent success was the “Coldest Night of the Year” walk in which hundreds participate. On June 15 th , the Open-Door Cycle Fest will be held. The Fast and Fiorini Tournament, in memory of late local cyclist Ian Fiorini, is another popular race, which peddles along Big Walker Mountain. Gravel and mountain bikers also enjoy the Gravel Grinder race in Bland.
“This year, we are very excited to be partnering with a law enforcement motorcycle club to feature a huge motorcycle ride as a part of the cycle fest,” Stidham noted. “These rides will all happen during the day, with the event finishing at our music festival here at the Open Door Café at 6 p.m. that evening. We will have cyclists, motorcycles, music, food, and local beer for everyone to come together and enjoy.”
Since their relaunching, the crown jewel of the entire organization has been the Open Door Café, open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a completely revamped menu of chef-prepared items including smoked brisket, burgers, hot honey chicken bowls, and so much more, the Open-Door is now offering a homeownership program.
“With our homeownership program, anyone can come in an get help with budgeting, saving, and credit repair,” Stidham explained. “We can use grant money to pay off past due debts if the person completes our program to help them get their credit up. Once we get their credit up, we can help package a mortgage for a first-time homebuyer. All these homeowner services are provided at no charge to the person going through the program.”
While donations are always appreciated, those who can’t pay are always welcome to volunteer for events, assemble HOPE Packs for school students, or volunteer in the community garden, which helps supply the café. Sharing event information on social media and, of course, participating in events are also helpful.
“I invite everyone, even if you aren’t riding to come out to the Cycle Fest music festival on June 15,” Stidham encouraged in closing. “Enjoy the music, grab a local beer, and support our cause.”
