According to a new study, homelessness in Orange County is on the decline.

Eighty people reported being homeless in 2016 compared to 129 in 2015. That’s according to a point in time study, conducted yearly by the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness.

The count represents people who were homeless, both on the streets and in shelters, on the last Wednesday in January.

But how can we explain this decrease?

Michael Reinke is the director of the Inter-Faith Council, which operates the men’s and women’s homeless shelters in Chapel Hill.

Reinke said demand for other IFC services, like bags of groceries, are going down too.

He said the IFC distributed about 15,000 bags of groceries in the previous year, while that is still a lot of food, it’s about 3,000 bags less than the year before.  Demand for meals at the community kitchen are also down.

“All of this is not to say that poverty has disappeared in Orange County but rather that we may be seeing the effects of the great recession slowly kind of going away,” said Reinke, “Somewhere close back to normal of where we were before.”

Last year the IFC moved their community home to a new location, where they now offer transitional housing for up to 52 men. Women and children are housed in a different location. The previous shelter on Rosemary Street, which is still the site of the community kitchen, was equipped as an emergency shelter for when the weather got bad.

Reinke said the new community house focuses on long term stays and rehabilitation, opposed to simply offering a one night fix.

“There is a variety of different issues that people come in with when they say I need emergency shelter and often times these are problems that can’t be fixed in one day, sometimes, actually quite often they can’t be fixed in 30 days,” said Reinke.

That’s why, according to Reinke, providing transitional housing opposed to emergency shelter is important. He likened it to actually healing a wound, instead of just putting on a Band-Aid.

Reinke also said that during this past winter, there was vacancy in the women’s and children’s shelter, which he said was unusual.

Local Organizations Making A Difference

Orange County may also be seeing a drop in homelessness due to the array of organizations working in the community, like Community Home Trust and Habitat for Humanity.

“All of these organizations have been working together to say, what can we do to reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness in our community,” said Reinke. “And the great thing about these numbers is that we may actually be experiencing some success, I mean that’s some really good news.”

While it appears that the efforts of local organizations are helping homelessness in Orange County, it’s difficult to rule out other reasons behind the decrease in the number of homeless people. Part of the decrease could be explained by populations leaving town or simply avoiding being counted.

Reinke hopes to keep building on the positive gains.

“Good news is we’ve made a difference, not as much of a difference as we need to,” said Reinke. “When you say, you could see some success now let’s build on it and perhaps even become more successful, that’s a message of optimism, that’s a message of things can get better so let’s pull together to see how we can keep those trends going.”

Related Stories
‹
In an About-Face, Liberal US Cities Target Homeless Camps
Written by SARA CLINE Makeshift shelters abut busy roadways, tent cities line sidewalks, tarps cover broken-down cars, and sleeping bags are tucked in storefront doorways. The reality of the homelessness crisis in Oregon’s largest city can’t be denied. “I would be an idiot to sit here and tell you that things are better today than […]
Homeless Americans Finally Getting a Chance at COVID-19 Shot
Written by CARLA K. JOHNSON Homeless Americans who have been left off priority lists for coronavirus vaccinations — or even bumped aside as states shifted eligibility to older age groups — are finally getting their shots as vaccine supplies increase. While the U.S. government has only incomplete data on infections among homeless people, it’s clear that crowded, unsanitary […]
IFC Holding Public Meeting on Proposed Good Neighbor Plan Changes
The Inter-Faith Council for Social Service currently operates a 52-bed transitional housing facility on Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard. But IFC leadership is proposing several changes to the Good Neighbor Plan that was agreed to when the facility was approved in 2012. Some of the changes are aimed at using alternate terminology, eliminating redundancies and […]
IFC Shelters Preparing Extra Space for Cold Nights
Temperatures are expected to drop into the mid-20s overnight from Tuesday into Wednesday. And it will feel much colder than that thanks to a frigid wind chill. These temperatures are highlighting a need at local shelters as they work to accommodate as many individuals as they can during the cold. When the temperature drops below […]
Chapel Hill Officials Consider New Purpose for Old Town Hall
The old town hall in Chapel Hill has hosted the homeless for years, but municipal officials are mulling over plans to repurpose the historic building. A committee was established last year to brief the Chapel Hill Town Council on potential uses for the property, which will soon be left vacant. Megan Dale, a municipal analyst […]
Partnership to End Homelessness Continues Work in Orange County
The dire effects of unsheltered living on impoverished people are often ignored, but the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness is paying attention and taking action. Speaking in her capacity as the homeless program coordinator of the partnership, Corey Root briefed the Chapel Hill Town Council on vulnerability and other internal assessment criteria. “What we […]
Number of Homeless Drops in Orange County
The overall number of homeless persons in Orange County is down from last year, according to the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness. 80 persons reported being homeless in Orange County in January of this year, compared with 129 in January 2015. That number includes people living on the street, as well as those living […]
Inter-Faith Council Completes Fundraising for Homeless Shelter
The Inter-Faith Council for Social Services, or IFC, has announced they have now raised the money necessary to completely fund a new homeless shelter for men at 1315 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd in Chapel Hill.
Dropping Temperatures Force The Homeless Inside
Most residents of Chapel Hill and Orange County probably do not think much about the homeless problem because this is not a big city like New York, Atlanta or even Charlotte. But there are still homeless people around the area, even though it is rural.
North Carolina Court Throws Out Conviction of Man With Guns Inside Car on Campus
An appeals court said a North Carolina man living in his car was wrongfully convicted when he parked near UNC Hospitals in 2021.
›