New Directions for Women: The Organization, Property, Programs and Money Behind the Third Avenue Shelter
At 805 Third Avenue North in downtown Myrtle Beach sits New Directions for Women, a women’s homeless shelter operated by New Directions of Horry County.
The relatively small residential-style property is part of a much larger nonprofit organization with more than $4 million in reported assets, substantial private and government funding, a structured recovery-based program, and plans to replace the Third Avenue women’s shelter with a much larger facility elsewhere in Myrtle Beach.
This is a factual examination of the women’s shelter, the program operating inside it, the nonprofit’s finances and its publicly announced plans to move the women’s shelter from its current Third Avenue location.
805 Third Avenue North
New Directions for Women is located at:
805 3rd Avenue North
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
(843) 232-7055
According to New Directions, the facility contains seven rooms with capacity for up to 27 individual women.
The property also contains bedrooms, bathrooms, three common living areas, a kitchen and outdoor recreation space.
Local reporting in 2026 described the current women’s shelter as a house dating to approximately 1930. New Directions officials told Myrtle Beach City Council that they have expanded the use of the existing building about as far as its physical limitations allow.
Executive Director William Howsare told City Council:
“We have maximized this space as much as we can possibly maximize it.”
The limited size of the property also prevents New Directions from routinely offering women the type of emergency overnight accommodations available through some of the organization’s other services.
This Is a Structured, Recovery-Based Program
The Third Avenue facility is not simply an overnight homeless shelter.
New Directions states that women receive shelter through its Pathways Program, which the organization explicitly describes as a “structured, recovery-based program.”
Women participating in Pathways work with case managers and peer-support specialists to identify and address underlying causes of their crises.
The program includes classes and peer-led groups and attempts to move participants toward what New Directions calls a “permanent, positive solution.”
New Directions describes its broader approach as addressing homelessness, poverty and addiction rather than merely providing temporary shelter.
The organization says its programs may address issues including:
- Addiction
- Mental illness
- Disability
- Employment difficulties
- Transportation
- Missing identification
- Housing
- Trauma and other personal crises
Peer-support specialists and case managers connect participants with outside agencies and services.
The recovery component grew substantially beginning around 2020.
According to New Directions’ own history, a pilot peer-support program called the Opioid Initiative was expanded into the Addiction & Recovery Outreach Initiative through $500,000 in Department of Health and Human Services funding awarded through the City of Myrtle Beach.
In 2021, New Directions says it began moving its shelter programming toward more onsite recovery-oriented services.
The Pathways Program combined its existing “Back To Work, Back To Life” approach with the 12 Step Facilitation Method recovery model.
There is, however, an important distinction.
New Directions specifically states in its current FAQ that it is not a drug or alcohol recovery program.
Instead, it says it supports people seeking recovery by connecting them with resources including Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, providing peer-support specialists and, in some circumstances, offering scholarships to outside long-term recovery programs.
Thus, describing the women’s shelter as a “recovery center” would be inaccurate.
Describing Pathways as a structured, recovery-based shelter program is the terminology used by New Directions itself.
There Is Currently a Waiting List
New Directions currently states that there is a waiting list for admission to its women’s shelter.
Women seeking shelter are instructed to call the Third Avenue facility and speak with a case manager about availability and joining the waiting list.
That further distinguishes the Third Avenue operation from a traditional walk-in emergency shelter.
New Directions Plans to Replace the Third Avenue Women’s Shelter
The current location is not intended to remain New Directions’ long-term women’s shelter if the organization’s present expansion plan succeeds.
In February 2026, New Directions formally presented Myrtle Beach City Council with plans for a new women’s shelter.
The proposed facility would be constructed along Mr. Joe White Avenue on approximately one acre of land adjacent to New Directions’ existing operations and next to Dick’s Pawn Superstore.
CEO Kathy Jenkins told City Council that New Directions purchased the property approximately six years earlier.
The proposed building would be two stories.
More significantly, it would nearly triple the number of women’s shelter beds compared with the 27-bed capacity at 805 Third Avenue North.
New Directions has estimated the project at approximately:
$7.6 million
The organization intends to raise money to finance construction.
Jenkins told City Council in February:
“We still have a lot of money to raise to make this happen.”
She also stated that New Directions traditionally has not borrowed money for its projects, although borrowing remained a possibility depending upon how much money could be raised.
The organization has cited the physical limitations of the Third Avenue property as one of the reasons for pursuing the project.
The Relocation Had Not Yet Been Approved for Construction as of July 2026
The project has continued moving through the process, but construction had not begun as of July 2026.
On July 15, 2026, WMBF reported that New Directions had applied for the necessary building permit but was still waiting for an answer.
Kathy Jenkins said:
“We have applied for the building permit, and we’re waiting on that.”
The organization has said construction could take approximately 20 months once groundbreaking occurs.
Therefore, as of the latest publicly available information, New Directions for Women remains at 805 Third Avenue North, while New Directions continues pursuing its proposed replacement facility.
This article makes no assumption about the future use of 805 Third Avenue North after the women’s shelter leaves. No future use of that property should be stated as fact unless and until the organization or public records establish one.
The Organization Behind the House
The operator is New Directions of Horry County Inc.
Federal EIN:
20-1831970
New Directions is recognized as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) public charity.
Because of that status, its annual IRS Form 990 filings are public.
Those filings provide a useful look at the size of the organization behind the relatively small Third Avenue women’s facility.
Latest Reported Financials
For the fiscal year ending June 2025, New Directions reported:
Total revenue: $1,216,437
Total expenses: $1,248,151
Revenue less expenses: -$31,714
The organization therefore reported spending approximately $31,700 more than it received during that fiscal year.
Its balance sheet was substantially larger:
Total assets: $4,110,597
Total liabilities: $947,121
Net assets: $3,163,476
New Directions therefore ended the reporting period with approximately $3.16 million in net assets.
These figures represent the entire New Directions of Horry County organization and should not be interpreted as the finances of the Third Avenue women’s shelter alone.
Where New Directions Gets Its Money
Of the organization’s $1,216,437 in reported annual revenue:
Contributions and grants: $1,039,771
Investment income: $43,457
Program-service revenue: $8,328
Fundraising-event income: $124,881
Contributions and grants accounted for approximately 85.5 percent of New Directions’ total reported revenue.
Within that contribution-and-grant income was substantial government funding.
New Directions reported:
Government grants: $328,000
Government grants alone therefore represented approximately 27 percent of the organization’s entire annual revenue.
Approximately 31.5 percent of its reported contribution-and-grant revenue came from government grants.
Where the Money Goes
New Directions reported approximately $1.248 million in total expenses.
Approximately:
81% — Program services
19% — Management and general expenses
Reported fundraising expenses were only:
$843
The organization’s tax filing therefore classified approximately four out of every five dollars spent as program-service expenditures.
Again, these figures cover New Directions as a whole rather than only the women’s shelter.
CEO Kathy Jenkins’ Compensation
Kathy Jenkins serves as Chief Executive Officer of New Directions of Horry County.
According to the organization’s latest available Form 990, her reportable compensation was:
$109,615
That is the compensation reported by the nonprofit itself to the federal government rather than an estimate from an employment or salary website.
Her reported compensation was equivalent to approximately 8.8 percent of the organization’s $1.248 million in total annual expenses.
Who Funds New Directions?
Public nonprofit filings allow a significant portion of New Directions’ private foundation support to be traced.
Available grant records identify approximately $1.3 million from 63 grants made by 22 identifiable funders between 2019 and 2024.
Among identifiable funders during that period were:
Leslie L. Alexander Foundation — approximately $235,000
United Way of Horry County — approximately $229,000
Edna Wardlaw Charitable Trust — approximately $157,000
Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina — approximately $156,000
Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust — $100,000
The Ayco Charitable Foundation — approximately $71,000
Westgate Foundation — approximately $60,000
Ocean View Memorial Foundation — approximately $58,000
Waccamaw Community Foundation — approximately $51,000
The Leon Levine Foundation — $50,000
Ernst & Young Foundation — approximately $30,000
Bank of America Charitable Foundation — approximately $27,000
These totals represent grants identifiable through available nonprofit tax filings and should not be interpreted as a complete list of every contribution received by New Directions.
Individual donors and some smaller contributions cannot necessarily be identified through public Form 990 records.
Recent Individual Grants
Recent records provide examples of the continuing private financial support.
Identified grants include:
Leslie L. Alexander Foundation — $45,000
Westgate Foundation — $30,000
Edna Wardlaw Charitable Trust — approximately $29,000
Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina — $25,000
Ocean View Memorial Foundation — $15,000
The Leon Levine Foundation — $50,000
New Directions has also publicly acknowledged receiving a $2,500 Waccamaw Community Foundation grant for general operating expenses. According to New Directions, that amount represented the equivalent cost of approximately 125 nights of shelter.
The Chapin Foundation of Myrtle Beach has also reported providing $25,000 in support to New Directions.
Public Money Is Part of the Financial Picture
New Directions is therefore not funded exclusively through charitable donations.
Its own federal filing reports $328,000 in government grants for the latest fiscal year.
Public records also document individual governmental payments. For example, a Horry County public check register records a $25,772.54 payment to New Directions of Horry County Inc. on November 6, 2025.
New Directions’ recovery initiatives have also benefited from government funding.
The organization states that its Addiction & Recovery Outreach Initiative grew from $500,000 in Department of Health and Human Services funding awarded through the City of Myrtle Beach.
Government funding, private foundations, individual charitable contributions and fundraising therefore all contribute to the organization’s operations.
A Small Property Backed by a Much Larger Organization
Viewed strictly from the street, 805 Third Avenue North is a relatively small women’s shelter with seven rooms and space for 27 women.
The organization operating it is considerably larger.
New Directions reported:
$4.11 million in assets
$3.16 million in net assets
$1.22 million in annual revenue
$1.25 million in annual expenses
$1.04 million in contributions and grants
$328,000 in government grants
$109,615 in CEO compensation
The women’s shelter itself operates through a structured, recovery-based program involving case management, peer support, classes and connections to addiction-recovery resources.
And New Directions has publicly stated that the existing Third Avenue facility no longer meets its needs.
Its proposed solution is a $7.6 million, two-story women’s shelter that would nearly triple the current capacity and relocate the women’s shelter from its present Third Avenue location.
As of July 2026, however, that project remained awaiting action on its building permit.
For now, New Directions for Women remains at 805 Third Avenue North in Myrtle Beach.
Sources and Further Reading
New Directions of Horry County — New Directions for Women / Our Facilities
Official description of the seven-room, 27-bed Third Avenue facility.
New Directions of Horry County — Need Help?
Official description of Pathways as a structured, recovery-based program and current women’s shelter waiting-list information.
New Directions of Horry County — Our Story
Organizational history, development of Pathways, the Addiction & Recovery Outreach Initiative, government funding and plans for the new women’s shelter.
New Directions of Horry County — FAQ
Organization’s clarification that it is not itself a drug or alcohol recovery program and description of its AA/NA, peer-support and recovery-resource connections.
WMBF News — February 25, 2026
Reporting on New Directions’ presentation to Myrtle Beach City Council, the proposed $7.6 million replacement women’s shelter, its location, proposed capacity and limitations of the existing Third Avenue facility.
WMBF News — July 15, 2026
Reporting that the proposed women’s shelter remained in the permitting stage and quoting CEO Kathy Jenkins regarding the pending building permit.
IRS Form 990 — New Directions of Horry County Inc., EIN 20-1831970
Primary federal nonprofit financial disclosure.
Philanthropy.org / Cause IQ
Searchable Form 990 and foundation-grant information derived from nonprofit tax filings.
Horry County Government — Public Check Registers
Government expenditure records documenting payments to New Directions of Horry County.