Myrtle Beach Haven helps homeless families.
/ George Ramos
Staff at Myrtle Beach Haven celebrated the center's 25th birthday Friday. Myrtle Beach Haven is an emergency family shelter that can house up to 50 people at once.
Families and individuals who are referred by another agency like Helping Hand and meet certain requirements can stay at the shelter for free.
Shelter director Dwight Carraway says since the economic downturn and rise in foreclosures they are seeing more locals seeking assistance, "We have gone from five years ago to only have five or ten percent local people staying with us. It's now ranging from fifty to sixty percent local people that are here."
In the past they mainly helped families who relocated to the area, couldn't find a place to live, and ran out of money. The average stay for a family is four to eight weeks.
"These are not bad people, these are good people that unfortunate and sometimes bad things have happened to and that is our goal here at Myrtle Beach Haven to keep families together as a unit until they can get back on their feet," added Carraway.
They also unveiled their new ad campaign.
