Community News & Updates

Connecting Veterans Experiencing Homelessness to the Services They Deserve
Through the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program, ECHO’s permanent housing initiatives provide comprehensive support to veterans, including case management, housing placement, and access to essential services. In addition

From Classroom to Community
Rather than having students learn in a classroom, Coastal Carolina University’s Social Inequality 309 class is trying to give its students work experience while also putting them in the field

Fully renovated facility providing home & hope to veterans
“It’s awesome…if I had to put it in one word.”
That’s how Joey Smoak, CEO of the Eastern Carolina Housing Organization, or ECHO, described their fully renovated NardMoor facility in Myrtle Beach.
The former nursing home now provides temporary housing to homeless veterans.
While ECHO has been using their John’s Place program to help out vets for years, they’ve finally wrapped up work on the NardMoor site, which is top of the line when it comes to temporary housing.

Yes, Chef: Myrtle Beach native to cook for homeless vets
Renowned chef and third-generation restaurateur Sam Diminich beat homelessness and addiction — 10 years and counting without drink or drugs.
He beat the COVID-19 pandemic, opening the Your Farms Your Table gourmet meal delivery service in Charlotte when the virus made dining out unpalatable.
The American Culinary Institute alumnus even beat Bobby Flay in 2020 on the celebrity chef’s competitive cooking show on The Food Network, wowing the judges with lobster risotto.

Remembering Briley: A Beloved CFO and Friend
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our dear friend and Chief Financial Officer, Briley Altman. Since ECHO’s very beginning, Briley has been a guiding light

Eastern Carolina Housing Organization is a Best of South Carolina® Winner
The votes have been counted and the results are in! ECHO is a 2024 Best of South Carolina® winner in Guide to South Carolina’s annual readers’ poll. Guide to South