The US Department of Housing and Urban Development defines the term "homeless" as
a person who resides in one of the places described below:
- In places not meant for human habitation, such as cars, parks, sidewalks, abandoned buildings (on the street).
- In an emergency shelter, transitional or supportive housing
- Is being evicted within a week from a private dwelling unit and no subsequent residence has been identified and lacks resources and support networks needed to obtain housing.
- Is being discharged within a week from an institution, such as a hospital, mental health or substance abuse treatment facility or a jail/prison, in which the person has been a resident for more than 30 consecutive days and no subsequent residence has been identified and the person lacks the resources and support networks needed to obtain housing.
- Is fleeing a domestic violence housing situation and no subsequent residence has been identified and lacks the resources and support networks needed to obtain housing.
Why is homelessness an important issue in Guilford County?
Nationally, approximately 1,000,000 persons are homeless on any given night, and as many as 2.5 million to 3 million people experience homelessness over the course of a year.
In Guilford County, over the course of a year over 4,500 individuals experience homelessness with multiples of this number on the verge of homelessness.
- Guilford County has the Nation’s fourth-highest rise in poverty and the South’s second-highest increase in unemployment
- Cost the community $600 to $3,500 a month per individual or family experiencing homelessness
- 10 to 15 percent of people experiencing homeless, are considered chronically homeless, an unaccompanied homeless individual with a disabling condition who has either been continuously homeless for a year or more, or has had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years. Those experiencing chronic homelessness use 50 percent or more of all emergency shelter resources in their communities.
- Most people who become homeless in our community are assisted by a “Continuum of Care” which move them from emergency shelter through transitional housing to permanent housing. For individuals that homelessness has become a chronically condition the system isn’t working.
What are the causes of homelessness?
Some people experience homelessness because of:
- High housing costs consume too much, more than 30%, of their individual or family income.
- An unexpected event triggers a downward spiral – the loss of a job, injury or illness, the loss of a spouse. For someone with very low income, even a car breakdown, which would be just an inconvenience for some of us, could lead to the loss of a job and put a person at risk of homelessness.
- They have a low income or they are unemployed, working at a low-wage job, or underemployed.
- They or someone in their family suffer from chronic mental illness or substance abuse or have a physical disability or chronic illness such as HIV/AIDS. These individuals and families often experience long-term, chronic homelessness and are best served by supportive housing.
Home Run for Homelessness | 5/16/2010 | 3:00 p.m.| NewBridge Bank Park more...
Upcoming training opportunities more...
Provider Coalition | 9/9/2010| 9:30 a.m -11:30 a.m.| Unitarian Universalist Church, 5603 Hilltop Road, Jamestown more...
News about
Partners Ending Homelessness more...
