After over a year of community engagement with East Kinston residents and stakeholders, we are proud to unveil the vision for the new East Kinston Neighborhood Hub.

This transformational facility is designed to be a cornerstone for resilience, community empowerment, and healing in East Kinston.

Our commitment to the community led us to envision and create the Neighborhood Hub project—a dynamic initiative designed to uplift and serve our beloved East Kinston neighborhood.

Located centrally in East Kinston near Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, the Hub will be just steps away from the most densely populated part of our community, providing essential access to resources and programs. This space will offer:

  • Multi-use Spaces: From classrooms and event spaces to coworking areas and reservable venues for birthdays and reunions.

  • Commercial Kitchen: Supporting food business startups and providing healthy meals during disaster response.

  • Outdoor Garden & Play Areas: Spaces for healing, community building, and recreation.

  • Sustainable Design: Solar panels, water collection systems, and green roofs that contribute to the resilience of our neighborhood.

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Beyond its role as a place of service, the Hub will nurture inner resilience for East Kinston’s residents. It will provide a safe, welcoming environment where people can play, heal, learn, and grow. The outdoor garden will offer opportunities to work the earth, while multigenerational play will strengthen bonds between residents. Art and storytelling—whether through murals, music, or cultural programming—will allow the community to celebrate its heritage, and collective organizing will thrive in this community-owned, inclusive space.

Resilience at its Core
The Hub will operate as a community resilience center, offering “blue sky” services during everyday life and quickly transitioning to support neighborhood needs during “dark sky” days—such as during extreme weather events or disasters. This includes:

  • Solar Power Backup: Keeping the facility operational during power outages.

  • Cisterns for Rainwater Collection: Supporting environmental sustainability and stormwater management.

  • Emergency Shelter Capabilities: Showers and restrooms for those in need during emergencies.

Our Organization

Kinston Teens is a youth-led nonprofit organization on a mission to empower young people through service, leadership, and civic engagement. Since our founding in 2014, we've been at the forefront of creating positive change in our community, responding to crises like hurricanes and the COVID-19 pandemic, and now, focusing on long-term recovery and resilience. Through initiatives that address food insecurity, youth empowerment, civic engagement, and community development, we're building a brighter future for East Kinston. Join us in our journey of transformation!

The Neighborhood Hub

The Neighborhood Hub is currently a small home that Kinston Teens acquired in 2018, and has worked to renovate into a transformative space for community-building and youth development. We are working to build a new and larger Neighborhood Hub in East Kinston that will serve as a community resilience center during times of crisis and all year long.

The Neighborhood

East Kinston, an area just east of downtown and the focus of this project, has had more difficulty recovering in comparison to other areas of our city. East Kinston was hit hardest by recent hurricanes and struggles to regain its footing as we grapple with issues related to concentrated poverty and crime. This area, one of the main gateways into the city and downtown, could be characterized as dilapidated residences, abandoned structures, outdated and dense public housing, and poorly-maintained vacant lots. The neighborhood is also dramatically underserved by commercial enterprises, resulting in scarce employment opportunities and limited access to goods and services for local residents. We see our neighborhood as a place of hope and potential.