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Shelters working to accommodate emergency housing situation for fathers

MINT HILL, N.C. — When Hurricane Florence pummeled the Carolinas, Daniel Talley lost almost everything he had.

"There was nothing left of the house,” Talley said.

For the past two months, Talley and his five children, who live in Emerald Isle, have been staying with family in Mint Hill.

Talley came here with the intention of going back after the storm, but he had nothing to go back to.

"We only came up here with enough clean clothes for three days," Talley said.

Talley said getting back to normal has been tough and finding temporary housing for his family has been nearly impossible.

“I would rather be out on the street in the car somewhere, as long as my kids are with me (rather) than be separated from them,” Talley said. “That wasn't an option for us."

The Salvation Army provides housing for women and children, and then there’s a men’s shelter, but nothing for men and their children.

“I can't go to the women's shelter to stay with my daughter,” Talley said.

The Salvation Army said the urgent need for emergency housing for homeless fathers is nothing new.

"We may get a request from four dads with kids a week,” said Deronda Metz, director of the Salvation Army Center of Hope.

A Salvation Army spokesperson said they get $30,000 a year to use toward putting families in hotels so they can stay together, but it costs about $320 a week to do that.

"With dads, the money can pay for maybe a week or two weeks,” Metz said. “The chances of ending someone's homeless episode in one week or two weeks is not realistic."

With so many requests coming in, the Salvation Army is in the process of finding ways to expand to keep families like the Talleys together.

"We would like to be able to house those families or house that dad with a child in an emergency situation,” Metz said.