UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS

A brief report on what would make people more likely to use shelter, barriers to service, and unmet needs from the unsheltered community

Kate Hoyle, B.A.

University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Health Psychology Department

Unsheltered Homelessness is a brief report delving into the needs and experiences of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in Charlotte Mecklenburg during the 2024 Point in Time Count. This blog post highlights the key findings of this brief report. Additional information is available in the report linked here.

KEY FINDINGS

The brief report focuses on what people experiencing unsheltered homelessness said would make them more likely to use shelter, what prevented them from accessing services, and what their unmet needs were.

Overall, the top responses to what would make people more likely to use shelter were:

  • more privacy,
  • other (unspecified) reasons,
  • less people in the shelter, and
  • Space in the shelters.

For top barriers, people reported:

  • not having an ID or personal documents,
  • not knowing where to go for help, and
  • a lack of transportation.

For top unmet needs, people reported:

  • housing services,
  • transportation assistance or bus passes, and
  • free meals or food.

Among the people who were experiencing unsheltered homelessness, people living with a substance use disorder (SUD), LGBTQ+ people, veterans, and people who were chronically homeless reported facing certain challenges at disproportionately high rates such as lack of transportation for veterans, and a need for drop-in or day services for people experiencing chronic homelessness.

People living with a SUD are 8.8 times more likely to be prevented from accessing services due to a lack of ID or personal documentation.

They were also 8.9 times more likely to report the unmet need for mental health services, and 12 times more likely to report needing and not being able to access substance use treatment.

LGBTQ+ individuals were 7.3 times more likely to report an unmet need for substance use treatment.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Many the people experiencing unsheltered homelessness regardless of identity or background reported things that would make them more likely to use shelters, barriers to accessing services, and unmet needs.

Certain identities and backgrounds, such as having a SUD, being LGBTQ+, being a veteran, or experiencing chronic homelessness, are linked to people reporting certain challenges at higher rates.

Finally, being LGBTQ+ or having a SUD are predictive of having barriers to accessing services or having issues accessing mental health and substance use services.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER?

Addressing issues that people experiencing unsheltered homelessness said would make them more likely to use shelters, pose barriers to accessing services, or were unmet needs is important for helping this community. This research in the brief report shows that people with a SUD and LGBTQ+ individuals face challenges in accessing services and have unmet needs for mental health and substance use treatment. As we work towards building more comprehensive and accessible services for the unsheltered community, we should pay particular attention to what would make these services more accessible and approachable to people with these backgrounds and identities.