Service Groups and Faith Alliance Homelessness in Wake County Jan 19, 2021
Attendees:
Nicole Bernard, Officer Kenneth Ragland, Niki Miller, Kim Crawford, Apex Town Council Member Brett Grantt, Apex Town Council Member Cheryl Stallings, Yvonne Harrison, Frances Bisby, Phil Welch, Karen Morant, L Crosslin, Toria,Carla Witherington, Wendy Scott, T. Barksdale, S Peterson,Craig Varkevisser, Nicole Singletary,Jim Ahler, Joselyn Williams,Morgan Mansa, Mindy Varkevisser,Robin Hammond
Summary:
Nicole Bernard reviewed the 4 -level socio ecological model. The four nested, hierarchical levels of this model are Individual, Relationship, Community and Societal. This is the gold-standard model used to structure prevention strategies. We used this model to determine our Service Group and Faith Alliance topics for 2021.
Officer Ragland recognized Apex town council members attending the call and introduced Kim Crawford, the executive director of Raleigh/Wake Partnership to End Homelessness(The Partnership). kcrawford@partnershipwake.orghttps://partnershipwake.org/our-staff/
Ms. Crawford began by explaining the Homeless Crisis Response System in North Carolina as follows:
Several years ago, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) mandated that 12 Homeless Continuum of Care (CoC) regions be created in NC. The Partnership is a paid consultant of the Raleigh/Wake County CoC, the second largest CoC.https://www.ncceh.org/coc/
HUD requires each CoC to:
- collect data on service recipients and maintain one Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) per state.
- maintain a Coordinated Entry (or Assessment) System to ensure fair and consistent access into the Homeless Crisis Response System. This system determines who is eligible for services and which services best fits their immediate needs.
Some tasks The Partnership assists with are training CoC professionals to properly maintain required records, convening the CoC twice a week, and applying to various funding sources on behalf of the many service providers.
So how did the system work in Wake County Pre-COVID?
Originally, there were 8 emergency sites where people could walk up and request an overnight stay. This was problematic because entry allowance was not consistent and the 8 sites were only accessible to locals since transportation is often difficult for individuals experiencing homelessness. There were 620 shelter beds available in Wake County pre-COVID.
How is the system working in Wake County now, during COVID?
About 6 months ago, a call center was created to rectify some of the problems mentioned above. (Currently the call center averages about 1,000 calls a week.) The call center employees’ initial goal is to divert the caller to other available services so the caller does not have to enter the Crisis Homeless Response System and deal with the negative effects associated. If a true need for emergency services is determined, call center employees would enter the caller’s information into the Coordinated Entry System and direct the caller to a shelter with open beds.The call center phone number is 919-443-0096. The individual needing help has to call in for themselves due to confidentiality restrictions.
Due to social distancing mandates, the 620-bed capacity went down to between 400 and 450. Wake County worked with area hotels to secure more beds. At peak demand in late August, Wake County had 1,135 occupied shelter beds. Unfortunately,as of December 31st, the hotel beds were no longer made available. Currently, there are only 475 shelter beds in Wake County, but 600 beds are in need. Anyone who calls the Call Center now will be turned away or put on the waiting list.The current wait to get into a shelter is 4 to 6 weeks!!In addition, there are 487 households in need of an address. When the eviction moratorium is lifted, the situation will get exponentially worse.
Shelter workers and homeless service providers are overwhelmed and worn out.Even though funding is coming from COVID emergency relief in the form of Emergency Solution Grant Funding, the housing program workers and managers don’t want it. They can’t fathom accepting more work. They are simply overworked and do not have the stamina to keep up with the never-ending influx of individuals who need help. The whole system is overwhelmed.
The Raleigh/Wake County CoC has implemented an initiative called the Landlord Engagement Housing Navigation Program which approaches landlords and asks them to please set aside one or two housing units to help combat the homelessness problem in Wake County. Since there are 700-800 landlords in Wake County, they are hoping that his program will help supply hundreds of housing units. The details are here:https://www.triangleaptassn.org/housewake.Notably, the program offers signing bonuses for the leases that go through their program. For a long-term lease, the bonus is $750, $600 for a 6-month lease, and $350 for a month-to-month lease signed.