What to know about Craven County's homeless population and where they can seek help
Based on interviews with members of the local homeless population as well as medical and law enforcement professionals and various charitable organizations, here are five important facts to know about Craven County’s homeless population.
1. The true number of homeless individuals is higher than the reported statistics.
Based on data gathered by Religious Community Services in New Bern, there are currently somewhere between 100-122 individuals daily in Craven County with no fixed address. Experts say those numbers, which represent a survey of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January, underrepresent the area’s homeless population. Many individuals simply refuse to talk to point-in-time counters, while others are inaccessible, living with friends and parents or camping out in wooded areas.
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Local point-in-time counts have also been suspended over the last several years due to COVID-19, making homeless population numbers even harder to pin down.
2. Craven’s homeless population seems to have grown since the beginning of COVID.
Those who regularly work with Craven County’s homeless have noted a definite surge in the numbers since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Community paramedic Chris Henry says he has seen an increase in both the homeless population as well as mental health and substance abuse issues. RCS, meanwhile, has reported a 118% upswing in the number of people it helped with poverty issues the past three years.
3. Both locally and nationally, women now make up a larger percentage of the homeless.
New Bern’s Religious Community Services reports a higher number of women have sought shelter services over the last several years. A recent study by the National Coalition for the Homeless found that since 2016, homelessness among women had increased by nearly 17%, from 16,500 people to 115,635 in the U.S.
4.Early trauma, substance abuse and mental health issues are leading causes of homelessness.
The National Coalition for the Homeless has found that 38% of homeless people are alcohol dependent, while 26% rely on other addictive substances. According to a 2015 assessment by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a minimum of 250,000, or 45 percent of those experiencing homelessness, suffered from some form of mental illness or chronic substance abuse issue, while an estimated 25 percent were seriously mentally ill.
As RCS Director Zeb Hough noted, “Homelessness, addiction, mental illness, all of these are experiences that come out of trauma. Most of what we see is the traumatic event of poverty, extreme, excruciating poverty.”
5. Many of the homeless are simply normal people who have fallen on hard times.
Many of the individuals interviewed for this series once led lives that in most respects would be considered successful: a steady job as a truck driver or construction worker, a loving family or military service. But at some point, those lives spiraled downward, whether through traumatic accidents, loss of employment or substance abuse — sometimes all three.
As Community Paramedic Chris Henry noted, “These are just normal people that have fallen on hard times. Just treat them with the same respect you would anybody else.”
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Services for the homeless in Craven County
Religious Community Services, 919 George St, New Bern, 252-633-2767
The New Bern nonprofit offers three distinct homelessness housing services.
Crisis Shelter: RCS’s traditional 20-bed Crisis Shelter offers an overnight haven for individuals experiencing homelessness.
Veterans Residence: RCS houses a five-unit, Veterans Residence on its George Street campus. Here, veterans are provided consistent housing while they work with a case manager to achieve self-sufficiency
Family Residence: At RCS’s four-unit Family Residence, families experiencing homelessness are provided consistent housing while they work with a case manager.
RCS also offers a food pantry and clothing assistance. Through Operation Outpost, the agency has expanded its efforts to bring free food and clothing to residents in some of the most economically challenged areas of Craven, Jones and Pamlico counties.
For more information visit, https://www.rcsnewbern.om/future-shelter-page
Bailey Springs Hope, 210 Bailey Lane, Vanceboro, 252-721-9274
Currently an emergency-use homeless shelter designed to meet only immediate needs, founder Corey Purdie is working to transform Vanceboro’s old consolidated schoolhouse into a site that offers permanent housing, as well as job, educational and religious services for those transitioning away from homelessness.
For more information about Bailey Springs Hope email info@wash-away.org
Chris Henry, community paramedic: 252-670-1743, chenry@carolinaeasthealth.com
Henry covers Craven, Pamlico and Jones counties at least one day a week providing basic medical services for the homeless and putting them in touch with area providers who can offer more comprehensive care.
Shake the Ground Ministries, Havelock, (252) 515-1080, shakethesegrounds@gmail.com
Founder Heather Bryner works with area volunteers to provide food for the homeless in her hometown of Havelock. She is also in the process of opening a soup kitchen at 114 Trader Avenue.
Other available help:
Individuals or families in need of housing assistance due to homelessness can contact the NC United Way by calling 2-1-1 or visit the website, https://nc211.org/.
This article originally appeared on Sun Journal: Craven County's homeless: What to know, where to get help
