WFAE
Homeless residents camped near Roof Above last year. Local leaders hope to develop a comprehensive strategy by this fall to eradicate homelessness within five years.
Last week, Charlotte leaders announced an effort to wipe out homelessness and expand affordable housing within five years. It s not the first time Charlotte has tried this, but some think this has a better chance at succeeding.
Last week s announcement was not a plan, but a renewed acknowledgement of the problem and a commitment to draft a plan and identify funding within six months. It s the latest of many initiatives like Out of the Shadows in 2000, More than Shelter in 2006, Housing First in 2015, and the county s Launch Upstream two years ago.
WFAE A man sleeps in a bus shelter on East Trade Street during the Speed Street Festival uptown in 2019.
A coalition of city, county, nonprofit and business leaders launched an effort Thursday to develop a five-year strategic plan to eradicate homelessness and expand low-income housing in Charlotte.
CHARMECK.ORG
Organizing began a year ago for the
2025 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing & Homelessness Strategy. The initial working group includes not only local leaders, but also someone who has experienced homelessness. The idea is to draft specific plans and identify funding by this fall, said Mecklenburg County Manager Dena Diorio. We re going to be looking at prevention, better wraparound services, access to affordable housing, data, communications, and really trying to integrate all the work so we look at it from a continuum perspective as opposed to just one segment of the continuum, Diorio said.