WILMINGTON — A measure proposed by a city council member last year is poised to come back again to address homeless activity and “public disorder” in downtown Wilmington.
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Council member Luke Waddell is again pushing for a public camping ordinance, in addition to a youth curfew — measures he believes are vital for addressing downtown public safety following recent July 4 weekend shootings and ongoing complaints from business owners. The public camping ordinance is intended to keep unhoused individuals from sleeping on public property in Wilmington’s city limits. It failed in a 2-5 vote in June 2024, with Waddell and his Republican colleague Charlie Rivenbark in favor.
However, Waddell told Port City Daily he’s re-approaching it with optimism his council members may have shifted their views.
“Sidewalks and storefronts remain overwhelmed by homeless individuals who refuse services and create unsafe conditions,” Waddell said. “To me, this points to a broader breakdown in basic expectations of public order.”
Some of his colleagues contend a ban could criminalize vulnerable populations, complicate outreach efforts, and fail to address underlying systemic issues. Waddell requested the measure to be discussed by city council in August.
Waddell believes the ordinance would work in conjunction with current efforts addressing homelessness downtown and across New Hanover County, specifically with the Getting Home Street Outreach program. Getting Home is a joint City of Wilmington and New Hanover County initiative designed to connect individuals experiencing homelessness with resources and support services. It comprises four county social workers and one supervisor partnered with five Wilmington Police Department officers.
Launched as a pilot in October 2022, it offers a holistic approach to the unsheltered population by providing resource connections like housing, employment, and mental health and substance abuse services. In the 2023-2024 fiscal year, Getting Home received an Achievement in Innovation Award from the National Association of Counties.
On launch, the program was a $2.4-million initial effort combining city and county contributions. For fiscal year 2024-2025, the allocation to the program from the county was $1.88 million, which covered various mental health and substance use disorder strategies, including Getting Home, public school nurses, and therapists. The FY 2025-2026 budget allocated $536,000 for the program. The City of Wilmington contributes by providing the police officers and paying their salaries.
The Wilmington Police Department declined Port City Daily’s request for comment or an interview with an officer involved in Getting Home. The department also didn’t answer questions about challenges and successes of the program by press, thus providing no direct police perspective on the effectiveness of current efforts in managing issues like repeat offenders and open-air drug use, which Waddell cites as key concerns.
However, county Health Director Jon Campbell said the Getting Home outreach team conducted 5,801 interactions with unhoused individuals from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025. Campbell noted roughly 20% of these outreach efforts occurred in the downtown corridor.
These interactions led to significant increases in services provided compared to the previous year’s metrics: access to day/night shelters rose by 458 individuals, permanent housing placements increased by 25, and connections to medical, mental health, or substance use services jumped by 286, more than doubling.
Since the launch of Getting Home three years ago, individuals experiencing homelessness have largely increased in the Cape Fear region, though in the past year, growth has slowed down. According to Cape Fear Continuum of Care’s Point-in-Time reports — an annual snapshot of sheltered and unsheltered homelessness on a single night — New Hanover, Pender, and Brunswick counties had an overall increase in unhoused individuals from 347 in 2022 to 506 in 2025, a 46% increase. Yet, 2025’s count of 506 individuals represents a decrease from the peak 593 recorded in 2024.
It’s worth noting these figures are considered an undercount of the true local homeless population because it often misses individuals who are couch-surfing, staying in motels, living in their cars or otherwise hidden from view, according to Andrea Stough, homeless services director for the Cape Fear Continuum of Care.
Waddell asserted unhoused individuals often “refuse services” when offered help by outreach teams. Stough said this take oversimplifies “a much more complex reality.”
“Street outreach teams encounter people navigating deep trauma, physical and behavioral health challenges, and a lack of safe or appropriate options,” she explained. “Declining a specific service is not the same as refusing help altogether. For example, someone might decline a shelter bed due to safety concerns, separation from a partner, inability to bring a pet, past negative experiences, or a preference to avoid crowded environments.”
Though Campbell didn’t give a count of people who have declined help, he noted Getting Home social workers attempt to break down that barrier: “While some individuals initially decline services, often due to past trauma, institutional mistrust, or untreated mental health conditions, the team remains engaged, recognizing that trust and readiness take time to develop,”
Despite increased outreach efforts and a decrease in the PIT count from its 2024 peak, some downtown business owners have spoken out about concerns with activity deterring visitors.
Joe Apkarian, owner of Taco Baby, The Eagle’s Dare, and The Pour House, described an “increase in the amount of some of the unhoused on Front Street and adjacent streets.” Apkarian recounted witnessing a family get “catcalled” by a member of the unhoused population, remarking: “There’s three people that are never coming back downtown again.”
He also was concerned with unhoused individuals engaging in lewd acts, panhandling, harassing patrons, and contributing to a generally unsafe atmosphere downtown.
“I think we need to provide support and help, but also I think we need to say: ‘You can’t come downtown and do this,’” Apkarian said.
Concerns about public conduct have previously led to action locally. In February of 2023 the New Hanover County Commissioners voted 4-1 to pass an ordinance banning sleeping and camping on county property, with Commissioner Jonathan Barfield dissenting. Primarily aimed at areas like the downtown county library and adjoining parking deck, the county’s ordinance prohibits sleeping from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. and the presence of tents or sleeping materials. The measure passed after complaints surfaced regarding litter, drug use, public urination and criminal activity on county property.
Wrightsville Beach passed an ordinance last December that would enact a civil penalty for camping on town property.
According to Stough, public camping bans can make it more difficult for service providers, such as the Getting Home team, to locate and reach unhoused individuals. Stough said these ordinances unintentionally push people further into isolation and disrupt relationships with outreach workers.
“Citations or arrests can create new barriers to housing by generating legal or financial complications,” Stough explained. “They are also generally not suitable and can pose safety concerns, for families with children and our aging neighbors experiencing homelessness, both increasing in our region.”
Stough added the last few years of increased numbers are largely driven by the housing crisis, with rising costs, limited affordable options, and population growth.
“Our data shows one of the most significant indicators is that 86% of people entering the homeless services system locally are new to homelessness, a continual increase from 60% in 2020,” Stough said. “This suggests that housing instability is affecting more people for the first time, rather than being driven solely by chronic homelessness.”
According to the county’s May 9 Housing Needs Assessment, a 14% population increase over the last decade has intensified the region’s severe housing shortage and driven up costs. From 2018 to 2023, median gross rent increased by 38%, potentially rendering homes unaffordable for single-earner households across all industries.
As well, the county faces an immediate deficit of 7,377 affordable rental units, with subsidized housing at near-zero vacancy, and needs an additional 21,187 units in the next decade to keep up with current growth. Additionally, the county cut its $3 million annual workforce housing commitment in the recently adopted Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget in-part of broader cuts to reach a lower property tax rate.
However, Campbell said Getting Home has had some success in placing people into residences: “This persistent, person-centered model has helped over 100 individuals transition to permanent housing since the program’s inception.”
City council member Salette Andrews, who previously voted against the public camping ordinance, expressed concerns the measure would, in effect, criminalize homelessness.
“Public safety is not just about policing,” Andrews stated. “It’s about making sure people have food, housing, opportunity, and hope. I welcome a conversation with any colleague who is committed to real solutions that match the scope of the crisis. But we must resist the urge to treat public safety as a platform for performative policies that don’t work and don’t heal.”
PCD reached out to all council members for input on Waddell bringing back the public camping ordinance. Andrews and David Joyner were the only to respond by press.
Joyner, who also voted against the 2024 ordinance, emphasized the need for a comprehensive joint city and county homelessness strategy before enacting such bans. According to Joyner, city council and county commissioners met twice last year to assess existing homelessness services, pinpoint deficiencies, and propose collaborative solutions for the city and county to address those needs. He said he was informed the county would chart their own course on addressing homelessness, separate from the city.
“If anyone wants to come back to the table with a good-faith proposal, I’m willing to listen, but, until we get our arms around coordinating services, unhoused folks are just going to revolve from a street corner to the jail and back again,” Joyner said. “I want a model that interrupts that cycle and solves the problem that led to or keeps the individual chronically homeless.”
Numerous homeless camps have been cleared city-wide in recent years, including along Kerr Avenue. Currently, an encampment along Hurst Drive near the Wilmington police and fire training center is also being addressed, according to internal city emails. Yet, many believe this doesn’t address the problem, only pushes populations around, which in effect can make homeless people harder to reach for services.
In 2024, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson affirmed the ability of cities to clear homeless encampments and enforce punitive measures, including public camping bans. In the year following this decision, the National Homelessness Law Center reported that 260 new laws addressing homelessness, primarily public camping bans, were enacted across the country.
Within North Carolina, cities like Asheville, Charlotte, and Fayetteville already have public camping ordinances in place.
Earlier this year, state legislators also proposed broader legislation. North Carolina House Bill 781, titled “Unauthorized Public Camping & Sleeping,” was introduced on April 3 by Randolph County Republican Rep. Brian Biggs. The bill aimed to ban unauthorized camping on public property statewide. Although it passed the House on May 7 with a 69-42 vote, garnering support from all Republicans and nine Democrats, the bill ultimately died in the Senate. It was referred to the Senate Rules and Operations Committee on May 8 but didn’t receive further action before the legislative session adjourned in late June.
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