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Charlotte woman forced to live in storage container due to shelter bed shortage

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Women and children are being turned away from shelters already at capacity.

The Salvation Army's Center of Hope said they're always at capacity, but in the past year instead of finding a temporary place to stay, more families are living on the street.

Channel 9 spoke with one woman who is currently living in a storage container.

She did not want to be identified out of fear of losing her current living arrangement.

"I really, really wish I had a place to stay to call my own," she said.

Right now, for her and many others in her situation, that wish is far from coming true.

"It's impossible. I can't find affordable place," she said.

She receives disability payments every month, but it's not enough to afford a home, so she has been living inside a cramped and dark storage container since June 15.

"They’re building all these townhouses and condominiums and these high rises. To look at something like that, yes, it's very hurtful," she told Channel 9. "I cry every day because I have to sleep in that storage space, it's been rough."

She was previously staying at the Salvation Army's Center of Hope for women and children.

The shelter is working to get her a bed once again, but the Center of Hope is facing its own challenges.

Deronda Metz, director of social services at the Center of Hope said, "If you ask me, 'is this a crisis?' it feels like a crisis."

She said they're seeing more women and families living in their cars and on the street, which she attributes to Charlotte's growing population and the housing crisis.

"We'll say can you stay somewhere, can you stay with a family member and then just check back with us?' So what we're seeing more and more is a lot of people literally don't have anywhere to go," said Metz

While she's grateful the city is working to address affordable housing, she feels this is an urgent need.

"We probably need to start working on like that immediate short-term solution while we’re working on the long-term solutions," said Metz.