BY BRANDY TEMPLETON

The clock is ticking for residents of the Brookwood Inn.

About 60 families who reside in the Statesville motel have been instructed to vacate by the end of August. The property will be demolished to make way for new development.

Since 2019, the Brookwood Inn has been a refuge for hundreds of people who otherwise might be homeless. The property owner charges a weekly fee of $290 for a room.

The residents, many of whom work, have few options. Many will have to choose between going to a shelter, living in one of the city’s tent encampments, or moving to another motel. In Statesville, the Master’s Inn, Hallmark Inn, and Best in Town offer rooms by the week or month.

Brookwood Inn Manager Denise Sharrow has been trying to help the residents by reaching out to some other motels.

“They’ve agreed to accept my residents at the same price they’re paying here,” she said.

Many of the residents are stressed and worried about what the future holds.

Greg Hale, 62, is beyond stressed over his situation. Explaining that he had never been homeless until the past year, Hale found himself at the Brookwood Inn after he lost his job and didn’t have enough money to go anywhere else.

“I didn’t have any other choice,” Hale said.

He was offered a decent room but lost it after making a costly mistake.

It was so hot one day that Hale, who is pre-diabetic, decided to sleep in his storage unit at U-Haul Moving and Storage in Statesville.

“I was so hot and tired,” Hale recalled. “I laid down on my cot and set off an alarm when I woke up. I violated their policy.”

The police were called and Hale could have been arrested for trespassing. Instead, he was given notice to move out quickly.

“Do you know how hard it is walking across Broad Street carrying a refrigerator on your back?” he asked. “Even small boxes are hard.”

He has carried all of his belongings back to his room at Brookwood Inn.

Hale said he has a job lead in the insurance industry, but nothing is certain. He’s not sure where he will be living when the calendar flips to September.

“I just don’t know,” he said.

Nicole Brown, 35, ended up at the Brookwood Inn in November 2024 after being forced out of her rental.

“We had a home and the landlord sold it right from underneath us,” she said.

Brown and her four children — ages 6 to 16 — have been trying to make the best of their situation. During the summer, her kids and others have played ball in the parking lots and walked the halls searching for friends.

Like Hale, Brown’s future is full of uncertainty.

She doesn’t have transportation of her own, but said she recently started a job in Mooresville. She prays to God daily for help.

“I currently deal with anxiety and depression, and this situation has made my emotions all over the place,” Brown said. “All I want is to have a home for me and my children and reliable transportation and a job to provide for me and my children.”

Paul Jones is a single father of two teenage girls, Sabrina, 14, and Bella, 13. One will soon start Third Creek Middle and the other Statesville High.

He’s been working 60 to 70 hours per week between Bestway and a Shell gas station to try to get ahead.

In October 2024, the family of three moved into Brookwood Inn after being evicted by Statesville’s Housing Authority.

“I was really really nervous about coming here to this place,” Jones said. “But they have snacks for the kids and Calvary Baptist Church for them too. It made me feel better.”

Still, he’s worried with the time crunch.

“I’m stressed out about everything. Houses and everything is so high, and I’ve already been struggling,” he said.

Not wanting to move to another motel, Jones has been searching for a trustworthy roommate. He has a couple of leads but nothing concrete.

Still, he is keeping on for his girls.

“I’m running out of fumes,” he said. “But I’m going to keep on doing what I have to do. I’m going to keep on fighting.”

Shocked like her tenets, Sharrow said she is discouraged by the property owner’s decision to sell the property and the hotel owner’s decision to close the doors so rapidly. The property owner gave them until October 30 to vacate.

“It’s like they don’t care about the people who live here and call this place home,” she said.