CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The dozens of tents near Uptown Charlotte are hard to miss. The pandemic made the persistent problem of homelessness impossible to ignore.
Through it all, Roof Above has kept its shelters and services up and running safely. Wednesday, its biggest fundraiser of the year was held virtually.
People need a safe place to stay as the weather gets colder. The pandemic has forced Roof Above to reinvent how it provides services, the organization will increase its shelter capacity this winter by more than 200 beds.
An online fundraiser is a sign of the times. True Blessings usually hosts more than 1,000 people at the Charlotte Convention Center. But for its 14th year, it was online and at home.
The tents lining the streets near Roof Above’s day services center are also a sign of the times. Hundreds of people in Charlotte are living on the streets.
“Street homelessness had been hidden for so long but we can't ignore it now,” said Liz Clasen-Kelly, the CEO of Roof Above.
Roof Above is the leading agency helping the homeless in Charlotte. During the coronavirus, they’ve been able to expand into more buildings, the space needed to allow for social distancing. They’ve put up barriers in the shelters and do health screenings and temperature checks.
They never shut down, continuing to help those who need it most. During this time, they’ve helped get 248 people into permanent housing.
A big part of the problem is the lack of affordable housing in Charlotte. The pandemic has made that more obvious and accelerated working being done to create more.
"We purchased an entire apartment community in East Charlotte, and we have plans to continue to expand our housing work. I think all that we've been through with the pandemic it would be a travesty not to learn all we can learn from this moment,” said Clasen-kelly.
To view the Roof Above fundraiser, click here.
And to donate, visit this website.