Service Groups and Faith Alliance
August 30, 2022
Meeting Minutes
Homelessness Survey and White Flag in Apex and Cary
Attendees:
Officer Kenneth Copeland; Officer Carter; Officer Danica Coleman; Jason Armstrong, Police Chief for Apex; Elliot Brooks, TFS Street Outreach Specialist; Nikki Miller, Shield; Tiffany Edwards, Apex Baptist; Mindy Varkevisser, Church of Jesus Christ of LDS; Sherry Presnall, WWCM; Ginger Espino, Safe Child; Nancy Wakeley, Peak City Exchange Club; Mike Merker, Jordan Lutheran Church; Phil Welch, Town of Apex-Affordable Housing; Cheryl Stallings, Apex Town Council; Karen Matthews, Apex UMC; Deb Vinci
Introduction
Kenneth provided overview of agenda which will be to review survey results and discuss how we can address the issues. Elliott will lead our discussion.
Prior Discussion Summary given by Elliot
Statistics in Apex:
11 surveys returned confirmed some locations of homeless in Apex which have been largely unknown due to lack of successful PIT counts
2 camping off HWY 64
- Beaver Commons evidence of campers
- Survey identified person living in shed and has been housed
- Abandoned areas near motels, hotels
- 2 in parks
- Car camper in Apex
- Cary results were 50 in PIT count which is underreported…zero in Apex
This correlates with what Apex PD encounters
Shelter/Housing Discussion:
- Cat 1 homelessness and abuse is assisted with help from TFS and WWCM, etc. verses Cat 2 (have a roof over head-couch surfing) From Human Trafficking perspective, vulnerabilities are great even for couch surfers.
- Lack of expansive safety nets is a big issue because stable place to stay is not necessarily safe.
- Teenagers trying to escape poor home environment
- Is anyone in the country doing this well we could learn from? Elliott does not have this information and will investigate this. Upstream book mentioned and Elliott reported that the access HUB is used locally. The challenge is that vulnerabilities are not identified and so a second level of detail is used to determine this which is often how prioritized.
- Chief Armstrong asked about filling the gap. Elliott referenced Design for Joy which helps women get training and experience to leave the program and get on their feet. No equivalents for men.
- Ex-convicts helped to transition but there is no list or repository for this information.
No public transportation in Apex. Sleeping in vehicles makes the challenge of engagement difficult
Set up parking lots to allow parking safely and not worry about harassment. Walmart does allow this, one of the few. Oak City Cares provides shower option. New Shower Bus getting ready to be approved…shower and laundry access.
Sherry shared they see folks that have given up on shelters because they are full. Why street access is important. Some of these underserved are scared and disillusioned.
Vouchers as income toward rent is not prevalently accepted in Wake County. This still allows for a screening process. All the red tape with Housing Authority also creates barriers for landlords.
More seniors over 65 are on the rise for homeless
Sherry (2019) …11% of seniors living below the poverty line. Rents going up such that they are not affordable…also medical debt causing abandoning senior
Cheryl shared they are very aware of the needs around housing. They are working on it to provide affordable housing for the community. Only one with active discussions through the town. Cary does not have it, but they are reviewing their housing policy.
QUESTIONS:
How to help those that are begging for help or food. So many variables play into this. Ask if they have access to the HUB. WWCM has cards to give with this information. Understanding resource options is difficult for some to do.
Mark has tried to engage with Apex Cares to do projects and it has been challenging to make this happen. Not easy to navigate. He will connect with Cheryl and Phil to find avenues to help.
Ideas for Community Engagement:
- Shower Bus
- DEGA – mobile vet clinic for low-cost services for financially challenging
- Fundraising for resources; sleeping bags, gas cards, fuels, fans and batteries (cannot use State and Federal Emergency Services Grant dollars for these things)
- Volunteer opportunities for community meals, hosting DEGA
- Know who to call if unsheltered person comes in asking for assistance. Keep Access Hub number ready to share 919-443-0096
- Calls from people in hotels are considered sheltered…WWCM helps in case-by-case basis. Have to determine if there is a long-term plan and refer them to services that can assist. People have an eviction history, don’t have security deposit or housing is not available are all challenges.
- Educating businesses on how to recognize unsheltered homelessness
- Collaborating with appropriate outreach interventions
- Construction of more affordable housing
- Educating the community
- Improving mental health and medical safety nets for community
Phil will be providing presentation to layout all that really can be done to help in future meeting. White Flag discussion was also tabled to another meeting due to time constraints today.
HUB Number 919-443-0096 for Wake County. Caller should be prepared to provide a way to be contacted i.e. emergency contact, location, mailbox, phone etc.
Elliott Brooks contact information:
919-501-8504 ebrooks@tfsnc.org