SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — Homelessness has become a prevalent topic of conversation in the tri-county region in the last three years, as organizations, local government and nonprofits consistently work on ways to assist populations of people living on the streets.
Port City Daily decided to take a closer look at the breakdown of funds that support this population.
Though the overall local investment is difficult to quantify, in the last decade multiple agencies have devoted at least $50 million — a very conservative estimate — into resources and assistance for those experiencing homelessness.
But that doesn’t take into account costs not so easy to assess: medical expenses, emergency room visits and overnights spent in jail, for instance.
Money is doled out for shelters, food assistance, housing, and social services. Financial support comes from the county and city for local initiatives, such as Getting Home, and nonprofits, such as Good Shepherd Center.
State and federal funds, primarily through the Department of Housing and Urban Development, also come into play. The federal government has determined it’s roughly $40,000 per year in social services per homeless individual.
In part one of the series, PCD addresses how the homeless population is tracked and funding that supports the data. It’s important to get an overall picture of the local numbers to understand the need and investment of dozens of agencies who support individuals struggling with housing.
In 2022, the Cape Fear Continuum of Care — an alliance of nonprofits assisting with services for the homeless — reported 1,885 people accessed its HUD-compliant system and received some level of support.
Roughly $1 million passed through the CoC last year out of HUD’s annual $2.5 million pot which serves 400 CoCs. Here is a closer look at the money and organization.
So how many are homeless in the tri-county region?
In Pender, New Hanover and Brunswick counties, there are roughly 7.9 people per 10,000 experiencing homelessness, just short of the statewide average of 8.8.
The Council of Governments “plans and administers a variety of federal, state and local programs in Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover and Pender counties.” It is the lead agency over the CoC, which does a point-in-time count on how many unsheltered individuals are in the tri-county area.
To fund its efforts, CoC receives a mix of grants, averaging nearly $1 million annually, from HUD.
The million dollars is used to promote community-wide planning and strategic use of resources, collect and continually improve data and work with nonprofits to establish needed programs. It also receives some funds for its coordinated entry system, which provides an initial assessment of anyone requiring assistance.
But the federal grants come with a local match requirement; the CoG must provide 25%.
In 2022, the CoC’s point-in-time numbers tallied 350 homeless people in the region (2023’s numbers have yet to be released). Annually, volunteers search Pender, New Hanover and Brunswick counties to try and retrieve data and demographics on the.
Cape Fear Council of Governments director Judy Herring verified to Port City Daily in January the amount of homeless people in the region is likely 50% to 100% higher.
“For every person you count, there is probably a person, or at least a half-a-person you are missing,” she said. “The count of people experiencing homelessness is not now, not ever, intended to be a full representation of people in the community who experience homelessness. It is a sample, a representative sample as opposed to every single individual.”
Good Shepherd’s community engagement coordinator Liz Carbone pointed out at a State of Homelessness forum earlier this month numbers are actually trending down over the last decade. Though the data is more like “peaks and valleys,” she said.
For instance, spikes have coincided with damage to the housing stock caused by Hurricane Florence in 2018 by about 50% and almost 90% by 2022, following the pandemic. Yet, it also dipped when permanent supportive housing complex Lakeside Reserve opened in 2017 by 39%. It decreased as well by about 60% when housing vouchers were introduced in the community in 2012.
“The point-in-time count is a snapshot of homelessness on that particular day and time,” CoC vice chair Meg McBride explained.
Volunteers go out on one day per county each January, based on the working knowledge of service providers who interact with the homeless daily.
CoC struggles to locate people experiencing homelessness in rural areas.
“It’s totally different than urban homelessness,” McBride said. “We don’t know how to find people out in Pender and Brunswick counties. We know they’re there.”
Volunteers must record the survey with the person signing off their initials; no one is required to participate. Surveyors ask for names, ethnicity, gender, age and other demographics, but those questions can be declined.
“It’s hit or miss,” McBride said about getting people to participate. “People are nervous and anxious.”
Additional questions may be asked such as someone’s access to shelter and food and if one has been a victim of violence.
Once the numbers are tallied, the data must be scrubbed for duplicates and receive the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s stamp of approval to become finalized. That can take years. For instance, the 2021 and 2022 numbers aren’t official yet, according to CoC’s website.
Herring confirmed the majority of individuals recorded in the point-in-time count are from New Hanover.
The numbers guide service providers on resources needed and account for funding from the HUD.
“It’s never enough money,” Carbone said.
Good Shepherd executive director Katrina Knight explained homeless services agencies really only stay afloat due to a “healthy mix” of funding: government money as well as private funds and donations (part two will take a closer look at money area nonprofits receive for homeless assistance).
Herring said part of the reasoning funding is always scarce is based on how homelessness is defined. Per the HUD’s funding requirements, people are considered homeless if they do not have a roof over their head. HUD typically funds program initiatives focused on the chronically homeless, she added.
“But for some, definitions of homelessness could mean living doubled up (such as multiple families living in a one-bedroom), couch surfing,” Herring clarified. “We consider them homeless because they’re not stably housed. ‘Unsheltered’ is a specific situation; someone can be sheltered and still considered homeless.”
Good Shepherd divides the homeless into four categories:
- Sheltered — actively staying in an overnight shelter
- Unsheltered — someone without a consistent place to sleep; occasionally staying in a shelter, transitional housing, or living in a car or building not meant for habitation
- Chronically homeless — someone perpetually homeless typically for a period longer than six months, at least three or more times
- Hidden homeless — people not typically seen by nonprofits and service providers but are in active housing crises
According to Carbone, the hidden homeless are the most difficult to account for.
“They’re living among us every day,” Carbone said to a crowd of 200 at a State of Homelessness forum earlier this month. “And we don’t necessarily get to meet them through services. So it’s always important to keep that in the back of our mind, that while we’re always dealing with folks who are currently experiencing homelessness, we’re also always worried about those folks that are just right there on the cliff.”
The chronically homeless are the most visible to the public and take up the vast amount of resources, such as medical (Port City Daily will be covering that in part three of the series), according to Knight. She added by assisting these vulnerable populations, it could reduce costs and pressures on law enforcement and additional public services.
Good Shepherd has been a member of the alliance for 20 years. The nonprofit service providers that comprise the CoC have to apply for their own funding to operate. They all rely on grants — which they have to reapply for annually — and donations to sustain their programs that assist the homeless.
The CoC helps monitor their grant processes and ensure they’re complying with federal regulations for funding. It also prioritizes funding efforts from its member organizations. This year, the emphasis was on rapid rehousing and permanent and transitional housing.
CoCs countrywide work with community partners; in the tri-county region, about 50 organizations are members.
In addition to helping the member alliance access HUD funding, CoC must comply with a Homeless Management Information System for data and record-keeping to ensure it remains financed. COG receives about $88,000 in HUD grant funding to cover the cost of the system itself, as well as 50 additional licenses for its member organizations to access the software. Each agency is encouraged to input its client data into the system.
“It’s also a really great way for us to assist someone keeping track of things like their birth certificate or social security number,” Carbone said. “There’s a database right there for you, that has that and helps you do things like access your benefits, or apply for a bank account a lot easier.”
Any agency receiving money for housing — whether its a shelter, transitional, rapid rehousing program or permanent supportive housing — is required to use the HMIS system.
The $1 million CoC receives in funding partially covers the cost of staff to handle intake assessments of those seeking housing. It connects people with homeless provider services.
The COG has two full-time and two part-time employees that assist with the needs of the CoC. To cover salaries and benefits, operational expenses and events, it costs $312,000. HUD does not fund that aspect and the COG receives operational funds from the City of Wilmington and New Hanover, Pender and Brunswick counties.
Herring said the state also covers $12,000 for administrative needs, and $29,290 comes from HUD for planning assistance.
“Staff are responsible for data collection, analysis, quality of data, reporting, grant monitoring, performance analysis, coordination of events — all goes into supporting the day-to-day activities,” Herring explained.
Also part of the $1 million is a $97,634 bonus for domestic violence services. HUD makes federal funds available for CoCs to assist households fleeing from domestic violence through rapid rehousing, transitional housing or supportive services.
A second grant program, the Emergency Services Grant, totaled $164,112 for the tri-county region.
In August, the CoC also became the lead on a tenant-based rental assistance program. It receives additional funding now through a different HUD grant to help individuals in housing crises find a suitable place to live.
Last year, the CoC received $214,000 to assist 21 people with rent. Herring said in the fall she applied for $400,000 to be able to increase the amount of clients served to 30.
“Assuming it’s awarded, we’re going to take that as far as it can go,” she said. “The majority is rental assistance, but there is some money in that grant to pay for supportive services staff.”
The money can also be used to cover rental security deposits, utility deposits and other client needs. Currently only landlords in New Hanover County participate and the program works similar to a housing voucher.
“It’s a progressive part of what we do,” Herring said.
Also applying for housing funds in tandem with the CoC, nonprofits have requested $220,219 to continue funding rapid rehousing or transitional or permanent housing already in place
The CoC has the authority to allocate some of its federal funds to new projects that reduce homelessness. This year, $71,136 was applied for to cover a new permanent supportive housing project.
HUD announced Thursday the funding for 2023 and CoCs in North Carolina received $14.5 million out of the $2.8 billion available. An exact breakdown of the Cape Fear CoCs awards have not yet been released.
Tips or comments? Email amy@localdailymedia.com.
Want to read more from PCD? Subscribe now and then sign up for our morning newsletter, Wilmington Wire, and get the headlines delivered to your inbox every morning.
