CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte nonprofits are seeking solutions to homelessness in Center City.
In just over a week, several city ordinances will be recriminalized after concerns about unsanitary and unsafe conditions in Uptown. Many argue the ordinances unfairly target the unsheltered population. Now, nonprofits are stepping in to help them.
The city is paying Hearts for the Invisible Charlotte Coalition $500,000 to create a Center City outreach team. The nonprofit will bring services to people facing homelessness and help them get off the street.
"There is a growing number of folks experiencing unsheltered homelessness there," Executive
Director for Hearts for the Invisible Jessica Lefkowitz said.
Lefkowitz added that homelessness is a big problem in Mecklenburg County as a whole, and the new Uptown outreach team will be in addition to the work her group does county-wide.
The outreach team Lefkowitz is building will work with the CMPD’s CARES team and an outreach ambassador for Center City Partners.
Lefkowitz explained team members will be meeting unhoused people where they are and connecting them with services while trying to find them shelter and permanent housing.
"We come from a place of love and we want people to feel comfortable and safe with us," Lefkowitz said.
The creation of the outreach team comes as several behaviors, like sleeping on benches, panhandling, and public defecation will be arrestable offenses starting March 1.
"I think if [the police] have some additional support, that would prevent these arrests from happening. I’m sure they would take us up on that," Lefkowitz predicted.
She hopes the partnership with CMPD will prevent arrests and build trust with people facing homelessness.
"We need to have something that goes far beyond just the recriminalization of the ordinances and that's why we're so focused on this holistic response," Kathryn Firmin-Sellers, the chief impact officer of United Way of Greater Charlotte, said.
Firmin-Sellers said outreach teams are an integral part of the “Home for All” plan: A multifaceted strategy in Mecklenburg County to end unsheltered homelessness.
"The vision is to ensure that homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring and that everyone has access to affordable housing and then resources to sustain it," Firmin-Sellers explained.
She added that implementing the plan will take time, especially with the severe lack of affordable housing.
"We have to remain committed to the mission over the long haul," Firmin-Sellers said.
Hearts for the Invisible is looking to hire a social worker, addiction counselor, and peer support specialist who can work with mental health and substance abuse issues. The openings for the Center City outreach team are listed on Indeed.com.
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