A new Task Force focused on addressing the impacts of homelessness on people throughout Guilford County held their first official meeting on Thursday, November 10, 2022, just a few days before the start of National Hunger and Homelessness Week in America. The annual National Hunger and Homelessness Week aims to draw attention to the problems of hunger and homelessness in communities.
The newly formed Task Force on Homelessness includes representatives from Guilford County and the cities of Greensboro and High Point and is staffed by county and city subject matter experts, and Continuum of Care (CoC) partners. Several members of the newly formed task force met previously in two planning sessions to begin outlining the membership and mission of the group. At Thursday’s meeting, the County Manager’s office announced the timeline for a Request for Proposals for qualified firms to provide consultative and facilitation services for the development of a cross-county homelessness taskforce in effort to develop a multi-year strategic framework. The county also provided information to the Task Force about an ongoing GAP Analysis that looks at the needs of people experiencing homelessness in the county and the available resources.
The majority of the meeting was dedicated to hearing from peer communities, Mecklenburg County Community Support Services and Wake County Housing Affordability & Community Revitalization, about strategic planning, collaboration efforts, work to reduce stigma, lessons learned, and innovative tactics and strategies to resolving homelessness for individuals and families.
“Homelessness is a complex issue that communities across North Carolina and the nation are facing, and we appreciate hearing from our counterparts in Mecklenburg and Wake Counties about their approach and what has worked for their communities to resolve homelessness,” said Guilford County Board of Commissioners Chairman Melvin “Skip” Alston. “When someone experiences homelessness in our community, we want that experience to be brief and to only happen once. As we move forward in this partnership, a goal of this task force is to develop a broad framework to deliver the services people need to exit homelessness and remain housed.”
The next meeting of the Task Force on Homelessness will be November 30, 2022 at 4 p.m.
Members of the task force include:
Guilford County Board of Commissioners Chairman Melvin “Skip” Alston, Vice-Chair Carlvena Foster, At-Large Commissioner Kay Cashion, and District 6 Commissioner James Upchurch.
City of Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughn, District 1 Councilwoman Sharon Hightower, and District 3 Councilman Zack Metheny.
City of High Point High Point Mayor Pro-Tem Monica Peters, Ward 1 Councilman Cyril Jefferson, Ward 2 Councilman Chris Williams, and Ward 6 Councilman Michael Holmes.
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