Entries by Mary Ann Priester

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Community Resilience and Housing Instability

Housing instability and homelessness increase a household’s risk for a variety of physical, mental, social, and financial challenges. In addition, those most likely to experience homelessness and housing instability are also more likely to be socially vulnerable to the impact of disasters. To assess the capacity of households to absorb the stresses associated with the impact of a disaster, the United States Census Bureau has developed the Community Resilience Estimate.
This blog provides an overview of the Community Resilience Estimate (CRE), local and state estimates, and how the CRE could inform decision-making in Mecklenburg County.

March 5, 2025 by
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One Number Update: January 2025

Since its inception in 2019, the “One Number” has served as the primary benchmark for the number of people experiencing homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.
Generated from the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), the One Number encompasses individuals enrolled in Emergency Shelter (ES), Transitional Housing (TH), Street Outreach (SO), Permanent Housing (PH) (if no move-in date to housing is recorded yet) and Coordinated Entry (CE) programs in HMIS. It includes both those experiencing sheltered homelessness and a portion of those experiencing unsheltered homelessness. It also provides a comprehensive By-Name List of each person experiencing homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.
The Housing Data Snapshot, the hub for the latest data related to housing and homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, not only provides an overall count and demographics of homelessness by household type and subpopulation, it also highlights inflow to (Newly identified, Returns from Permanent Housing, Returns for Inactivity) and outflow from (Exit to Permanent Housing, Exit to Inactivity), homelessness.
This week’s blog post provides the most recent One Number update; a synopsis of recent dashboard updates; the latest One Number trends and analysis; and what this means for Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

February 26, 2025 by
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Research and News Roundup: February 2025

The Research and News Roundup is a monthly blog series that features a curated list of recent news and research related to housing instability, homelessness, and affordable housing. Together, these topics provide insights about the full housing continuum and provide community stakeholders with information about emergent research, promising practices, and innovative solutions related to housing and homelessness.

This month’s Research and News Roundup highlights the recently released NAEH Housing Focused Street Outreach Framework, how four cities are approaching the affordable housing shortage, and an innovative program that seeks to decrease housing instability among essential workers.

February 19, 2025 by
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2024 STATE OF HOUSING INSTABILITY AND HOMELESSNESS REPORT DEEP DIVE: STABLE HOUSING

On January 7, 2025 Mecklenburg County Community Support Services released the 2024 State of Housing Instability and Homelessness report. This annual report compiles the most recent data on housing instability and homelessness for Charlotte-Mecklenburg by synthesizing local, regional, and national data on the full housing continuum (from housing instability to homelessness to stable, permanent, affordable housing). The SOHIH report serves as a knowledge base for all stakeholders to inform policy and practice decisions, optimize resource allocation, plan integrated systems of care, and drive advocacy efforts. The report explores three key components of the housing continuum: housing instability, homelessness, and stable housing. This blog is the first in a series of three blogs will take a deeper dive into each of these components.

This blog post takes a deeper dive into the findings from the third and final theme: stable housing. It also shares examples of promising practices and what can be done locally ensure stable housing for all Mecklenburg County residents.

February 12, 2025 by
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2024 STATE OF HOUSING INSTABILITY AND HOMELESSNESS REPORT DEEP DIVE: HOMELESSNESS

On January 7, 2025 Mecklenburg County Community Support Services  released the 2024 State of Housing Instability and Homelessness report. This annual report compiles the most recent data on housing instability and homelessness for Charlotte-Mecklenburg by synthesizing local, regional, and national data on the full housing continuum (from housing instability to homelessness to stable, permanent, affordable housing). The SOHIH report serves as a knowledge base for all stakeholders to inform policy and practice decisions, optimize resource allocation, plan integrated systems of care, and drive advocacy efforts. The report explores three key components of the housing continuum: housing instability, homelessness, and stable housing. This blog is the first in a series of three blogs will take a deeper dive into each of these components.

This blog post takes a deeper dive into the findings from the second theme: homelessness. It also shares examples of promising practices and what can be done locally to address homelessness. 

February 5, 2025 by
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2024 State of Housing Instability and Homelessness Report Deep Dive: Housing Instability

On January 7, 2025 Mecklenburg County Community Support Services released the 2024 State of Housing Instability and Homelessness report. This annual report compiles the most recent data on housing instability and homelessness for Charlotte-Mecklenburg by synthesizing local, regional, and national data on the full housing continuum (from housing instability to homelessness to stable, permanent, affordable housing). The SOHIH report serves as a knowledge base for all stakeholders to inform policy and practice decisions, optimize resource allocation, plan integrated systems of care, and drive advocacy efforts. The report explores three key components of the housing continuum: housing instability, homelessness, and stable housing. This blog is the first in a series of three blogs will take a deeper dive into each of these components.

This blog post takes a deeper dive into the findings from the first theme: housing instability. It also shares examples of promising practices to address housing instability.

January 30, 2025 by
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2025 Point-in-Time Count Wrap Up

Over the past three days, 20 CMPD officers and 40 teams of over 200 community volunteers came together to ensure #EverybodyCountsCLT by providing logistical support and conducting surveys with people experiencing unsheltered homelessness across Mecklenburg County. Point-in-Time Count co-leads, Mecklenburg County Community Support Services and Hearts for the Invisible Charlotte Coalition would like to sincerely thank each unhoused person who completed the survey, all who helped plan this year’s count, and those who selflessly volunteered their time, provided supplies and financial donations, or raised awareness about the 2025 Point-in-Time Count.

This blog provides an overview of this year’s Count, what’s next, and how you can stay involved year-round.

January 23, 2025 by
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One Number Update: November 2024

Since its inception in 2019, the “One Number” has served as the primary benchmark for the number of people experiencing homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.
Generated from the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), the One Number encompasses individuals enrolled in Emergency Shelter (ES), Transitional Housing (TH), Street Outreach (SO), Permanent Housing (PH) (if no move-in date to housing is recorded yet) and Coordinated Entry (CE) programs in HMIS. It includes both those experiencing sheltered homelessness and a portion of those experiencing unsheltered homelessness. It also provides a comprehensive By-Name List of each person experiencing homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.
The Housing Data Snapshot, the hub for the latest data related to housing and homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, not only provides an overall count and demographics of homelessness by household type and subpopulation, it also highlights inflow to (Newly identified, Returns from Permanent Housing, Returns for Inactivity) and outflow from (Exit to Permanent Housing, Exit to Inactivity), homelessness.
This week’s blog post provides the most recent One Number update; a synopsis of recent dashboard updates; the latest One Number trends and analysis; and what this means for Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

January 16, 2025 by
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2024 State of Housing Instability & Homelessness Report Released Today

Today marks the release of the 2024 State of Housing Instability and Homelessness (SOHIH) report. This annual report, produced by Mecklenburg County Community Support Services, compiles the most recent data on housing instability and homelessness for Charlotte-Mecklenburg by synthesizing local, regional, and national data on the full housing continuum (from housing instability to homelessness to stable, permanent, affordable housing). The SOHIH report serves as a knowledge base for all stakeholders to inform policy and practice decisions, optimize resource allocation, plan integrated systems of care, and drive advocacy efforts.

This blog post outlines the key findings from the 2024 SoHIH and what these findings could mean for Mecklenburg County.

January 7, 2025 by
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Research and News Roundup: December 2024

The Research and News Roundup is a monthly blog series that features a curated list of recent news and research related to housing instability, homelessness, and affordable housing. Together, these topics provide insights about the full housing continuum and provide community stakeholders with information about emergent research, promising practices, and innovative solutions related to housing and homelessness.
This month’s Research and News Roundup highlights the recently released NAEH Interim Strategies for Responding to Unsheltered Homelessness, a research article on quantifying and predicting doubled up homelessness, and the Picture of Preservation report which outlines risks to preserving affordable housing.

December 18, 2024 by