Teams of volunteers fanned out across Mecklenburg County early Thursday to tally up the number of people sleeping under bridges, in tents, or at bus shelters.
It was part of the county’s annual “Point-in-Time” count, where volunteers and county staff try to count the number of people who are homeless in a single night in January, and also distribute sleeping bags, hand warmers, breakfast sandwiches and other supplies.
WFAE’s Elvis Menayese spent the morning with one team of volunteers surveying people sleeping on the street in uptown amid freezing temperatures. He spoke with WFAE's Nick de la Canal.
Nick de la Canal: OK. Before we get into what you saw, can you give us some insight into what the “Point-in-Time” count is, and how it works?
Elvis Menayese: Yeah, sure thing. Every year, county staff and volunteers try to count everyone experiencing homelessness on the streets or in shelters. And they ask them questions like their age, if they’re a veteran, if they have a disability, things like that. The count is federally mandated, and it helps determine how much federal money Mecklenburg County will receive for homeless outreach and prevention projects.
De la Canal: Yeah, and I understand that you were up at 3 this morning to tag along with one group of volunteers. Where did you go, and what did you see?
Menayese: Well, I came across about a handful of people sleeping on the streets in uptown. Some were sleeping on a bench right outside the Bank of America Corporate Center. Others were on the ground under a bus stop with a blanket. We also saw two people sleeping outside of a church. In total, we saw about 10 people, mostly sleeping or walking around uptown.
What was most surprising was some volunteers came across a man who was unresponsive and lying on a sidewalk. After a few minutes, the volunteers determined he was actually dead. The police were called and blocked off the sidewalk, and paramedics followed. It was a very surreal moment.
De la Canal: Wow. Yeah, you know, and I was going to ask if there was any indication the cold affected this year’s count — because we just had a half-inch of snow this week, and temperatures have been well below freezing the last few nights. It sounds like maybe the cold did have an impact.
Menayese: Well, we don’t know for sure what the cause of death was. But the CEO of Roof Above, Liz Clasen-Kelly, said she’s been in more than a dozen counts. That was the first time she had encountered someone who had passed away.
Liz Clasen-Kelly: "It’s one of just a handful of times I’ve actually seen a body of someone who's deceased. It was incredibly — I mean, death will come for all of us one day, but you don’t want for anyone that experience of dying alone outside. It was not fitting of human dignity."
Menayese: Liz also said she was expecting to see fewer people out on the streets because of the cold. But in fact, they came across more people than they expected.
De la Canal: Yeah, wow. Well, when do we expect to know the results of today’s count?
Menayese: We can expect to know the numbers in the fall. What we do know is that the number of people experiencing homelessness in Mecklenburg County has been rising. As of June 2024, about 2,800 people were experiencing homelessness, an increase of about 80 people from the year prior.
Of course, the county is trying to figure out how to prevent homelessness and help these individuals. We know the supply of housing is very tight in Charlotte, which has been driving up prices. One woman I spoke with, Victoria Lani, said the biggest thing that could help her is better transportation.
Victoria Lani: "We've got to have transportation to look for jobs, to shop for simple groceries. I mean you have to know how to get around other than trying to find a friend or something like that."
Menayese: The next step is for the county to go ahead and take this information and try to come up with ideas on how to keep tackling the problem.
De la Canal: That’s WFAE’s Elvis Menayese. Thanks so much for your reporting.
Menayese: Thanks for having me.
