Why is homelessness an important issue in Guilford County?
Nationally, approximately 1,000,000 persons are homeless on any given night, and as many as 2.5 million to 3 million people experience homelessness over the course of a year. In Guilford County, over the course of a year over 4,500 individuals experience homelessness with multiples of this number on the verge of homelessness. • Guilford County has the Nation’s fourth-highest rise in poverty and the South’s second-highest increase in unemployment • Cost the community $600 to $3,500 a month per individual or family experiencing homelessness • 10 to 15 percent of people experiencing homeless, are considered chronically homeless, an unaccompanied homeless individual with a disabling condition who has either been continuously homeless for a year or more, or has had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years. Those experiencing chronic homelessness use 50 percent or more of all emergency shelter resources in their communities. • Most people who become homeless in our comm
