Homelessness Awareness Month: Residents Invited to Recognize Neighbors Without a Home

Header images for CSS Housing Innovation & Stabilization Services

The Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners has proclaimed November as Homelessness Awareness Month. In recognition of the month, several events are planned to bring awareness to the homeless community and the hard work that goes into helping to ensure that everyone has a place to call home.

Beyond the Bridge: The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Continuum of Care will host a screening of Beyond The Bridge, a documentary film in which the filmmakers traveled around the United States searching for solutions to homelessness. The film spotlights two large cities that proved a solution to homelessness is within reach for any community.

The screening will include a panel discussion with the filmmakers; Karen Pelletier, director of Mecklenburg County’s Housing Innovation and Stabilization Services; and Kaedon Grinnell, chief program officer with Roof Above. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Continuum of Care includes individuals and organizations across Mecklenburg County who are committed to ending and preventing homelessness.

Remembering Our Neighbors: The Homeless Services Network of Charlotte-Mecklenburg will host a vigil to honor those in the homeless community who have passed away this year. For many of those who have died, it’s the only remembrance of their life.

Homes for Veterans: Since 2018, Mecklenburg County has collaborated with Community Solutions’ Built for Zero initiative and other partners to address veteran homelessness. In that time, there has been a nearly 50% reduction in veteran homelessness. The past year alone saw a 29% reduction. Read more about this progress in Mecklenburg County’s Building Bridges Blog.

“Homelessness in our community is a complicated issue that requires many tools to address. But we continue to work on multiple solutions to help prevent people from entering our system, serve them while they’re in our system, and help them move to housing,” said Karen Pelletier, director of Mecklenburg County’s Housing Innovation and Stabilization Services division. “That includes utilizing funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to turn a motel into apartments for older residents who have experienced long-term homelessness. Our street outreach team is up and running, connecting homeless people to resources they need and reducing barriers to help. And we have a new plan in place called A Home for All to see long-term solutions and provide a framework to end homelessness.”

To learn more about the state of housing in Charlotte-Mecklenburg and the ongoing work to address homelessness, visit the Housing and Homelessness Dashboard at MecklenburgHousingData.org.