Mecklenburg County to track homeless population amid ongoing pandemic

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The dozens of people living in tents near uptown Charlotte have inspired countless organizations to help.

The latest includes #SpreadTheLoveCLT.

The new nonprofit serves the homeless because founders Katie Stiles and Travis Wright were once homeless themselves.

“I lost jobs, family and everything else,” Wright said. “I know how it feels.”

The couple is collecting essential items to donate like hand warmers, hygiene products and blankets -- useful things they wish they had at the time.

“If someone has the correct resources, then they might have the ability to feel differently about their situation and maybe they’ll feel empowered to change their situation,” Stiles said.

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The two said the need surged since the pandemic began, and they started their organization as a result.

We’ll soon know how much the encampments have grown when officials from the county’s community support services conduct its annual survey called the “Point in Time Count.”

The goal is to figure out how many people are sleeping in shelters, transitional housing and on the streets.

Typically, employees and dozens of volunteers run the survey. However, Courtney LaCaria with Mecklenburg County said COVID-19 is changing that.

“What our community opted to do is rely on our existing data, we have really good data,” LaCaria said.

This year, officials will use data from the county’s homeless management information system, or HMIS, which is a constant count of the homeless in our area.

The county will send those numbers to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“They use that {data} to give to Congress who makes decisions on funding for housing assistance and homelessness assistance,” LaCaria said.

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Unemployment and a lack of affordable housing are two major barriers preventing people from finding stable housing.

While that can’t be solved in a day, Stiles and Wright said they feel called to help and hope to find a solution.

“If they’ve left people out there for years, I mean years, then at this point I think it’s going to take a whole new group of people coming together,” Wright said.

The county will use numbers starting January 27 until mid-February. A recent survey from the county estimates roughly 3,000 people are homeless right now.

If you’d like to donate items to help #SpreadTheLoveCLT, please email spreadtheloveclt@gmail.com.

Cox Media Group