Mecklenburg County Community Support Services first released the “One Number” in 2019 as part of the annual Charlotte-Mecklenburg State of Housing Instability & Homelessness Report. Since its initial release, the One Number has become the “go-to” number for how many people are experiencing homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. The One Number is found on the Housing Data Snapshot, a hub for the latest information related to housing and homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. Generated from a By-Name List within the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), the One Number captures the number of people enrolled in Emergency Shelter, Transitional Housing, Street Outreach, Rapid Re-housing (if there is no move-in date to housing yet) and Coordinated Entry project inventories in HMIS. The One Number includes both sheltered homelessness and a portion of individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. In addition, the One Number can be broken down by both household composition and population type; elements include single individuals, families, unaccompanied youth, veterans, and people experiencing chronic homelessness.  The One Number can also be analyzed by inflow to, and outflow from, homelessness. By comparing One Number data over time (including by household composition and by inflow/outflow), the community can identify trends.  Once identified, these trends can then inform interventions. We are excited to share today the latest One Number update, which includes a complete refresh of all historical One Number data; trends and analysis; and what this means for Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

Last week, more than 40 individuals with diverse backgrounds, representing the public and private sectors, both for-profit and non-profit; as well as community advocates, participated in a two-day Design Sprint as part of “Evaluate Upstream.” Evaluate Upstream is a homelessness prevention system change effort focused on addressing structural factors that affect access to and sustainability of housing. The goal of Evaluate Upstream is to develop a comprehensive homelessness prevention assistance system in Charlotte-Mecklenburg that is grounded in shared accountability. The Design Sprint represented a critical pivot from the research, data collection, and systems mapping that occurred in the initial segments of this multi-phase process. The ideation that occurred during the Design Thinking “sprint” will lay the foundation for next steps, which will ultimately lead to the implementation of an effective, collaboratively designed prevention system. Evaluate Upstream was conceived well before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It originated as a Continuum of Care (CoC) planning grant request that was submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) over three years ago. The need identified at that time was the same as it is now: Charlotte-Mecklenburg has multiple organizations providing a range of prevention activities, but there is neither a unified strategy, nor a concerted effort to align the whole array of prevention resources to the needs of the populations at risk of experiencing homelessness. The COVID-19 pandemic (and subsequent assistance disbursed from the federal government to keep households from eviction) has only underscored the need for an optimized prevention assistance system that is complementary to the rest of the housing ecosystem. The purpose of this week’s blog post is to provide an update on Evaluate Upstream, including implications of this work for the housing ecosystem and for Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

Each year, during the final Wednesday of January, Charlotte-Mecklenburg conducts an annual Point-in-Time Count.  This is intended to capture the number of people experiencing “literal homelessness” in the community. “Literal homelessness” is defined as residing overnight in an emergency shelter, safe haven, transitional housing facility, or in an unsheltered location unfit for human habitation. The Point-in-Time (PIT) Count (and the complementary Housing Inventory Count, or HIC) is a mandated activity of all Continuums of Care (CoCs) as a condition of receiving federal homelessness assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). HUD aggregates PIT & HIC data from over 395 CoCs as part of an annual report that is submitted to the U.S. Congress to inform funding decisions. For the past three years, Charlotte-Mecklenburg has gone above and beyond the minimum HUD requirements, asking locally-generated survey questions to better inform decision-making here. The annual PIT Count, referred to here as “EverybodyCountsCLT,” has historically been supported by staff and hundreds of volunteers who go out, often in the middle of the night or in the early morning hours, to survey those individuals experiencing homelessness and to deliver donated winter weather supplies. As with many things during the past year, communities have had to make adjustments to conduct this year’s Point-in-Time Count due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To help communities in their planning efforts, HUD provided guidance to, and options for, communities to submit modifications or receive waivers. This week’s blog post provides an update on the 2021 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Point-in-Time Count and what it means for the community; and ways that individuals can meaningfully support the work, even during a health crisis.

It is (finally) 2021. The start of a new year, with the hope and promise of positive change. The time when we envision successful outcomes to the resolutions we just made. A time for new beginnings, a chance to start over. Yet the first days of January feel eerily like the last days of December. Has anything changed? Will anything truly change? If there are changes, how can we be sure that they are for the better, or the best? At the close of 2020, Congress passed another emergency COVID-19 relief package that provides some glimmers of hope. First, it extended the the federal eviction moratorium enacted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through January 31, 2021. Second, it included $25 billion in assistance for housing. Of that total, it is estimated that North Carolina will receive over $698 million. Third, it postponed the deadline for communities to spend the Coronavirus Relief funds provided in the initial CARES Act, from December 30, 2020 to December 31, 2021. With $70 billion owed by U.S. renters in combined back rent, utilities, and late fees as of January 2021, this measure helps communities like Charlotte-Mecklenburg both stave off the incoming wave of evictions and support the local economy. This week’s blog post covers the key provisions in the COVID-19 relief package, and what it means for Charlotte-Mecklenburg.  

During 2020, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing & Homelessness Dashboard published 52 blog posts covering an array of topics, including the Point-in-Time Count; new report releases (and what they mean for the community); and local data and trends information. Throughout the year, more than 12,000 individuals accessed the Dashboard; there were over 36,000 pageviews as a result. Two all-new series were developed in response to COVID-19, focusing on how communities like Charlotte-Mecklenburg can effectively address housing instability and homelessness during (and after) the pandemic. One of these (which includes the most-viewed blog post for 2020) covered innovative stopgap efforts that can be transformed into long-term “business-as-usual” solutions. The second pandemic-oriented series took a deeper dive into the components necessary for communities to develop a successful housing, public health, and economic recovery framework to effectively respond to COVID-19. In case you missed any of it, this final 2020 blog post is dedicated to the top ten posts (as measured by discrete views) from the year. Below are summaries; links to the “top ten” posts; and a final “so, what” for Charlotte-Mecklenburg to consider as the calendar is turned.

In Charlotte-Mecklenburg, the winter solstice will take place at 5:02 a.m. on Monday, December 21, 2020. Also known as the “darkest day,” the winter solstice marks the shortest period of sunlight, and therefore the longest night of the year. Winter solstice rituals and celebrations have been taking place for over 12,000 years. With what some cultures believed to be the sun’s literal “rebirth,” the winter solstice provides both a time to take stock of what has transpired, and to look to a new beginning. As the days lengthen, and our community looks to emerge from the pandemic, new rays of hope start to shine. According to Moody’s Analytics, almost $70 billion is owed by U.S. renters in combined back rent, utilities, and late fees as of January 2021. Data from the latest U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey indicates that 29.6% (199,447) of adults living in households in North Carolina report that they are not current on their rent or mortgage payments; and eviction or foreclosure in the next two months is either “very” or “somewhat” likely. On a single night in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, there are at least 3,165 individuals experiencing homelessness. Indeed, the light we are starting to see first serves to illuminate the desolate landscape that 2020 has been. In recognition of endings and the possibilities of new, positive directions, this week’s blog post is dedicated to a look ahead, with a focus on what’s happening at the system level to address housing instability and homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. This post will also address, in the spirit of this time of year, specific ways that individuals can make a difference in this vital work of ending and preventing homelessness in the community. Taken one step further, how might this new beginning also be the start of “real” change, at the individual and systemic levels?

Mecklenburg County Community Support Services releases today (December 10) the Single Adult Homelessness Integrated Data (SAHID) Report. This is the first community report focused specifically on single adult homelessness. The report is part of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing Instability & Homelessness Report Series, which is funded by Mecklenburg County Community Support Services and completed by the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute. The SAHID report integrates four separate data sources to describe single adult homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. This includes characteristics of the population, as well as an overview of the types of relevant services and systems. Data was sourced from Crisis Assistance Ministry; Mecklenburg County’s Food and Nutrition Services (Department of Social Services); the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office; and the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). This blog post will provide an overview of the key findings from the report, and what it means for Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

The eviction moratorium enacted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is set to expire on December 31, 2020. While the moratorium has helped postpone evictions from occurring, it offers no protection against either back rent owed or the accumulation of legal fees. Come January 1, 2021, communities across the United States may face a tsunami of evictions, which threaten to overwhelm an already strained emergency shelter capacity. Without widescale intervention, this poses a significant economic and public health crisis. This is not new news. There has been evidence of these waves on the horizon since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, many communities, including Charlotte-Mecklenburg, have taken measures to brace for impact while also trying to reduce the surge. In addition, proposed federal changes to housing policy and funding provide a glimmer of hope for the new year. This week’s blog post will share an overview of new and prospective efforts underway in the federal government to address housing instability and homelessness; and provide an update on the latest estimates of associated costs if nothing changes by the end of the year.

The August 19, 2020 Building Bridges blog post shared information about the homelessness prevention planning project, Evaluate Upstream: Optimizing the Homelessness Prevention Assistance System in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. The project was launched in May 2020 by Mecklenburg County Community Support Services; and is funded by a Continuum of Care (CoC) planning grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The goals of the project are to document existing prevention resources across Charlotte-Mecklenburg; determine whether (and how well) they work together; design an optimally functioning prevention network; and develop an evaluation framework.  Together, these efforts will devise and sustain a homelessness prevention system to positively impact Charlotte-Mecklenburg. Six months into the project life-cycle, this week’s blog post will provide an update on Evaluate Upstream, including lessons learned and what’s next for the work ahead.

In the midst of a pandemic, there are a lot of unknowns: “When will the pandemic end?” “When will I be able to see my family, friends, or co-workers “in person” again?” “What do I do for the holidays?” Some households, especially those already living on the edge of housing instability and homelessness, might also be wondering, “How will I pay my rent (or mortgage) next month?” “If I get sick and can’t work, how will I cover my bills?” “If I get evicted, where will I go?” “How will I keep my job if I am homeless?” “How will I ever be able to find another home, and keep my family safe and healthy?” Prior to the pandemic, communities were already addressing the pre-existing conditions of housing instability and homelessness. These communities, like Charlotte-Mecklenburg, are also grappling with how to plan for what lies on the horizon: “How many more households will become homeless as a result of COVID-19?” “What resources are necessary to prevent this from happening?” “How do we prioritize these resources upstream and downstream?” The national eviction moratorium enacted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expires on January 1, 2021. Without additional action, communities will likely see an immediate increase in evictions; this will lead, ultimately, to increases in homelessness. One report by the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) projects that, as of January 2021, there could be as many as 240,000 eviction filings in the state of North Carolina alone; coupled with an estimated statewide rent shortfall of between $632 and $824 million. To help communities plan now, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) has shared a tool to estimate future homelessness. This week’s blog post will provide an overview of the tool, and how it can be used in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.