Homelessness response: How it works and how you can help

As fall continues and winter begins to set in, new challenges will arise for Caldwell County's homeless population. The Western Piedmont Council of Government's Homelessness Response Team discussed what it does for unhoused people in the county, some of the resources that are available for as the seasons change, and ways that others can get involved in the efforts to help.

Homelessness Response Team manager Ric Smith, former manager Chasity Houck, outreach specialist Rachel Dillingham and Community and Economic Development director Ben Willis spoke with the News-Topic about the function and service of the WPCOG's response team.

Smith said that part of the team's purpose is to "engage those who are experiencing homelessness or in danger of experiencing homelessness" and "work with the community to point those who are experiencing this in the direction of resources that they can make use of," including housing, food and mental health resources. The team serves homeless people in Caldwell, Alexander, Burke and Catawba Counties.

The team connects with local governments, nonprofits and faith-based organizations that provide resources that unhoused individuals can make use of so that they can work with those individuals to direct them toward the resources that they need most, said Willis.

Often this includes evaluating needs on a case by case basis, which is exacerbated any the diverse needs of the community the team is working to serve. Willis said that people may call on the team who are experiencing severe medial concerns, to mental health issues, to addiction, to unforeseeable changes to their financial situations.

"What we try to do here is take a more holistic approach," Willis said. "The goal is to discover those barriers and then break those barriers down. The ultimate goal is to get them housed. A lot of the time that is a difficult, long process that can take many months to years."

Houck said that there was a trend of assistance efforts moving from open shelters to transitional housing, which can provide individuals with 90 days to a year, which gives them an opportunity to practice and get used to the needs of living in a single space. The team also works closely with NCWorks career centers to direct people to sources of income.

Shelters, food sources and mental health resources across the team's service area are also listed at homelessresponse.org where individuals can find what they need.

Houck and Dillingham both agreed that transportation was a service that could be more available in Caldwell County. In Catawba, Dillingham said, resources are more centralized, but are much more spread out in Caldwell, which poses a barrier to those without easy access to transportation.

Public transportation has been made more available recently through services like Greenway Public Transit's new micro transit service, but while that zone covers large portions of Lenoir, Gamewell, Hudson, and Cajah's Mountain, it does not extend to Sawmills and Granite Falls.

Willis also said that some organizations or institutions set up warming stations, places where people could come to get warm if they had nowhere else to go. However, the team said that many of these good samaritans were not aware of relevant rules, regulations, building code requirements or other factors that could put them or others in danger.

In response, the Homelessness Response Team held a symposium involving WPCOG officials, government officials, law enforcement, and community leaders that helped to identify relevant concerns of providing these kinds of resources to homeless individuals and provide guidance on how best to meet those needs in the future. The conversation was recorded and posted to the CCGTV youtube channel in 4 parts with the title: Partnering for Warmth. The videos are in the process of being edited and uploaded to the team's website.

In the mean time, the team requested that those looking to provide resources like warming stations should contact local law enforcement, the fire Marshall, and other municipal leaders to properly understand what will be required for them to help safely.

For members of the public, team members advise individuals to contact local resource providers and ask how they can help. Nearly all will be happy to have either money or volunteers to help.

"This is an all hands on deck approach," Willis said. "We are only as strong as the communities that we serve in; that is integral to serving this population."