Charlotte Observer's Editorial Tackles Homelessness

Published Wednesday, June 20th as an editorial in the Charlotte Observer

Tackling homelessness
Secret shelters no proxy for sufficient public policy, strategy

This city must get serious about tackling homelessness.

The point is astoundingly clear in Observer reporter Fred Kelly's Sunday story. That story detailed a secret world lurking behind Charlotte's skyscrapers and progressive New South image -- a reality that won't land Charlotte on any "world-class" city lists. This world exposes Charlotte's shortcomings in dealing with homelessness, a problem that has outpaced available resources so much that an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 people who need shelter can't find it. As a result, a secret network of shelters has cropped up to try and fill the void, the Observer discovered after a two-week probe.

The makeshift shelters have been offering help to the hardest cases, often people kicked out of shelters or drug treatment programs, or homeless mothers trying to keep custody of their children. But the shelters have come under fire for safety concerns and zoning violations. Recently, city officials ordered a facility in a north Charlotte strip mall closed after police complained it attracted troublemakers to an already crime-plagued community.

Those are legitimate concerns. Police said the north Charlotte building housed suspects in a rash of break-ins. Fire officials cite safety concerns -- the number of people inside if a fire broke out, or whether the buildings are equipped with necessary fire extinguishers or smoke detectors.
Advocates for the poor are concerned about the welfare of the people being served. Social workers told our reporter that unscrupulous operators taking advantage of mentally and physically disabled people is not uncommon.

Yet it is also true that most of these people get no help anyway. These makeshift shelters take in people who are mostly fending for themselves -- often living in highway underpasses, the woods or any nook and cranny they can find.

Helping some of these makeshift shelters find a way to operate in the open is advantageous. Many efforts have been laudable.

Hoskins Park Ministries shows the benefits. Johnny Allen, one of the founders, initially allowed homeless men to stay at his house. He didn't seek permission because city officials shut down an earlier shelter. Now, Hoskins Park has an office and has provided housing to nearly 400 men since 2001. The ministry is lauded for helping get many men back on their feet.
Still, these shelters can only help on the edges. Our community needs better strategies to deal with homelessness -- more affordable housing, city shelters, job training, higher-paying jobs and improved mental health and drug treatment.

City code enforcement manager Walter Abernethy has a point. Of the makeshift homeless centers, he said: "There's got to be a better way."

This community must do more to find it.