Report Card:
The Cape Fear’s 10-Year Plan
to End Chronic Homelessness
Unlike many other people who are homeless, the chronically homeless are not as affected
by the economy. Many are veterans, and many are disabled mentally, physically or both.
The age range of
people served is from
18 to 65, but the
majority are in their
40s and 50s. The 10-Year Plan
to End Chronic Homelessness
overview states the chronically
homeless consume more than
50 percent of resources, including
emergency medical services,
psychiatric treatment, detox
facilities, law enforcement and
correctional facilities.
Launched in May 2008, the
City of Wilmington along with
United Way of the Cape Fear
Area, began its 10-Year Plan to
End Chronic Homelessness and
Reduce Homelessness in the
Cape Fear Region. The longrange,
Wilmington, North Carolina residents line up to donate to a Make A
Change meter erected on Wednesday, July 22, 2009, as part of United
Way’s Panhandling Reduction Initiative.
comprehensive plan will transition into another federal program,
the Continuum of Care Program, by August 2014.
In 2010, the goals were realigned with the federal Opening
Doors plan to end chronic and veterans homelessness by 2015 and
end youth and family homelessness by 2020.
Dan Ferrell, project manager of the United Way of the Cape
Fear Area, says of the more than 350 10-Year plans nationwide,
only about 120 are currently active and being implemented.
“I think going into that next five years, it’s going to be a real
challenge,” Ferrell says.
When the group began, he was asked if it is possible to reduce
the number of chronically homeless to zero.
“I think we will bring it down to a maintenance number,” he says.
New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties are included in
a statewide point-in-time count, also called a snapshot, which is
conducted once per year by the North Carolina Coalition to End
Homelessness to place a number on the amount of homeless in the
tri-county region.
In 2008, 106 of the 392 homeless were chronically homeless.
30
WBM september 2013
But in 2013, only 64 of 338
were classified as chronically
homeless.The most recent
number is an increase from
2012, because of the addition
of previously unreported
Mercy House residents. The
weather can also be a variable
on the day of these point-intime
counts. Since the 2007
base count, the team that
goes out the day of the count
has looked more places and
created a standardized manual
to retrieve more accurate
numbers.
One Chronic large piece
of the program is the North
Carolina Coalition to End
Homelessness SOAR initiative
WBM File Photo
that funds a full-time caseworker to help the chronically homeless
apply for Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental
Security Income Disability Payments and Medicaid.
“The first thing we need to do is get them an income stream,”
Ferrell says.
Fundraising efforts for the Cape Fear area’s 10-Year Plan to End
Chronic Homelessness include the annual PJ Party and the five
Make a Change donation meters, which are converted parking
meters, located in downtown Wilmington.
The main goal is to get organizations to work together and
subscribe to the best practices. Now, New Hanover County, the
City of Wilmington and the United Way are the funding arms in
the collaborative effort. While there is currently no official New
Hanover County Board of Commissioners representative, former
commissioner Jason Thompson serves as a general business at-large
member on the 15-member board. Three additional positions are
listed as invited members.
“We’re a shoestring operation, but a shoestring operation that’s
making a difference,” Ferrell says.
By Kelly Corbett