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Since 2020, unsheltered homelessness in Wake County has doubled. Faced with rising housing costs, many people are forced to live on the street or in encampments located in parks and other public and private properties. In response to this growing crisis, the City of Raleigh helped facilitate the Unsheltered Homelessness Response Strategy, a comprehensive planning initiative to address unsheltered homelessness. In 2024, the City also launched an innovative pilot program to provide permanent housing to vulnerable community members living unsheltered.
Strategy
Sagrado Strategies leveraged the expertise of the 53-member Steering Committee to develop the Unsheltered Homelessness Response Strategy, with the City serving as a facilitation partner.
Development of the strategy involved conducting a needs assessment and gaps analysis, proposing shared protocols and prioritization methods, creating a housing surge toolkit, and synthesizing everything into a final plan and implementation guide, as well as a process for ongoing monitoring and evaluation.
Pilot
The pilot program leverages three evidence-based strategies to address the root cause of homelessness: lack of affordable housing.
- Housing Assistance
- Rental assistance for individuals and families living unsheltered along with voluntary case management, help moving into permanent housing, and access to supportive services.
- Homelessness Support Services
- Enhanced support for the broader homelessness services system, including continued funding for homelessness prevention and diversion initiatives, and support for local non-profit organizations and community partners working to end homelessness.
- Coordinated Community Response
- Collaboration between the City, local agencies and stakeholders to facilitate a housing-focused community-wide unsheltered homelessness response strategy.
The pilot provides participants housing assistance for up to two years along with any needed services to transition approximately 45 households into permanent housing. So far, the pilot has seen measurable success: fully decommissioning one of the city’s largest encampments and providing proof of concept for future initiatives addressing unsheltered homelessness.