MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — Mecklenburg County released new data on homelessness. It showed the number of people who are homeless increased in the county by 3% from 2021 to 2022. There are about 100 more people homeless this year than last year.
Pat Cotham, Mecklenburg County Commissioner At-Large, said while the numbers do paint a larger picture of the problem, she said there's some additional understanding.
“It’s a major topic nationally and locally," said Cotham. "So you have to take it with a little grain of salt… well maybe bag of salt. Everything has been skewed from COVID-19. That's when we had a lot of housing for homelessness a lot of people who were on the street and had COVID and needed a place to stay.”
The report also attributed the rising numbers to less low-income housing. Affordable housing accounts for 13% of total housing stock That's down from 45% in 2011.
Ed Driggs, Charlotte City Councilman, said affordable housing has always been a talking point among the Council, but sometimes it's limited on what can be done.
"Our housing programs are aimed at a different demographic and we rely on the county," Driggs said.
Cotham said building low-income housing can be a difficult decision for developers. The land in the County is getting more expensive. Developers sometimes ask themselves if is it worth it to purchase expensive land and place affordable housing on it.
“You have to remember the builders are in business, they are not there, a lot of them want to help but they have a payroll," Cotham said. "They need to make money for their own families. They are not social workers.”
Cotham said it's now up to local leaders to make it worth it and incentivize developers.
If you soon could experience homelessness, there are multiple programs you can look into.