New count shows more people facing homelessness in Guilford County

GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — How many people in Guilford County are experiencing homelessness? The annual Point-In-Time count tries to answer that question.

The results from this year show 641 people. That number is up compared to previous years. From 2021 through 2023, the count ranged from 426 to 482 people experiencing homelessness.

So why did the number increase in 2024? There are two main factors. There are likely more people experiencing homelessness. Also, the group took a different approach to the count this year and feels the numbers are more accurate than previous years.

“We didn’t necessarily get everybody, but we got closer than we have in years past,” Partners Ending Homelessness Executive Director Sherea Burnett said.

Typically, the team goes out with paper surveys. This year, an app specifically for Guilford County was used. Volunteers went out later in the day to speak with unhoused people.

“Previously when we went out earlier in the evening, people may not have settled in yet, especially if it is busy in the area where they’re known to camp,” Burnett said.

Out of the total 641 people, about 350 are in emergency shelters, 50 are in transitional housing, five are in a safe haven and about 230 are still unsheltered.

“You are talking about a massive issue with a finite amount of funding to address it, so we need to be really intentional and really strategic,” Greensboro Housing and Neighborhood Development Director Michelle Kennedy said.

A few months back, Kennedy spoke with the Greensboro City Council about using a residential preference for resources in the city.

“When you are in a large municipal area, you get a lot of influx from the rural areas surrounding you … A lot of times, you don’t know if you are serving residents from your city or if you are serving residents from even a different county or people who are coming from far away so trying to get a better grasp on how much of our homeless resources are going to people whom Greensboro is their home community is what we are trying to get to,” Kennedy said.

No decisions have been made yet, but now that the numbers are in, that discussion is back on the table.

“We obviously feel the sense of urgency,” Kennedy said.

The pallet homes could provide some temporary relief if the state signs off on the program to run all year long instead of just during the winter months. No decision is in sight.

The project to provide housing at the Regency Inn is at a standstill.

“We are at a place of trying to make a final decision as it relates to Regency. We expect to have something nailed down with that within the next month or so,” Kennedy said.

Finding housing is not the only issue. The case managers to help people are also in short supply. That’s another area the community wants to improve to help get people into a home.

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