Interesting Blog

Kevin Barbieux is a homeless man who maintains his own blog about his experiences.

The blog gives interesting perspectives on his life and the problems that the homeless face.

He has interesting posts on the Bible, tornadoes and his daily life.

Readers beware: There is some harsh language.

Where is the 10-year plan?

Tara Fikes, the housing and community development director, said Orange County has not begun implementing its plan to end homelessness.

“We’re in the process now of trying to hire a coordinator,” she said.

The Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness cast its net very broadly, and applicants are going through an interview phase right now, she said.

“We’re hoping to have them in place in a couple of weeks,” Fikes said.

With a coordinator in place, implementation of the 10-year plan will begin.

Plan outlines five goals to end homelessness

Orange County’s 10-year plan focuses on ending chronic homelessness in Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough.

The county kicked off the plan in September 2007.

The plan also will work to prevent homelessness, shorten episodes of homelessness and quickly find homes for those who experience situations that lead to homelessness.

The Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness created the plan based on research it presented to the public in March 2006.

“Natural partner” organizations will accomplish much of the plan’s goals. These organizations include elected officials, the Freedom House, law enforcement officials, Chapel Hill businesses, the Division of Social Services and various nonprofit organizations.

The first goal of the plan is to reduce chronic homelessness.

Strategies to accomplish the goal include establishing an outreach program that targets the homeless, creating an Assertive Treatment Team that will help those who are chronically homeless, acquiring 40 housing units that will provide permanent housing and creating an evaluation system to determine the cost of individuals who are chronically homeless before and after they are housed.

Increasing employment is the second goal.

Strategies to accomplish the goal include encouraging employers to hire more homeless through tax breaks and incentives, creating a job-training program for homeless, improving the “Wheels to Work” model, increasing child care options for those who have children and expanding public transportation.

The third goal is preventing homelessness.

The plan calls for youth who age out of foster services to continue their relationship with human services to prevent homelessness. Those who leave prison, the military or hospitals will not be released into homelessness.

Another strategy to accomplish this goal is to develop a plan that addresses the gap in affordable housing.

Increasing access to services is the fourth goal.

The network of homeless service providers will be improved so no one slips through the cracks. Medical care also will be provided for the homeless and a facility that will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week will be built.

The fifth goal is increasing public participation in ending homelessness.

The goal will be accomplished by increasing the number of volunteers in Orange County, increasing positive media support and developing strategies that demonstrate “proven results” to the tax payers in Orange County.

More to come on the plan’s costs.

Study looks at state of homelessness

The Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness released a study on March 22, 2006.

The UNC-Chapel Hill School of Public Health conducted the study.

It found 10 areas of needs that affect the homeless and developed action steps from the ten areas to help combat homelessness in Orange County.

The action steps are being used currently.

The School of Health studied housing; community engagement, including perceptions of the homeless and building effective partnerships; continuum of services, including connecting services and providing successful care; employment; discharge planning; basic necessities; education and prevention.

It developed the data from 32 interviews with the homeless, service providers and community members. Twelve focus groups also were held.

A low living wage combined with high housing costs worked against ending homelessness, according to the study. Also, stereotypes of homeless people dominate the community’s opinion, creating tension between the homeless and the rest of the community.

Many homeless don’t have access to basic necessities that they need for employment. Those necessities include access to phones, documentation and adequate health care services.

Community services are provided to the homeless, but many of them do not take advantage of the services because they are not advertised, according to the study. The standardization of the service providers also works against the homeless, because of their “unique ways of achieving success,” according to the report.

For the complete text of the study see: Orange County Homelessness Briefing

About Me

My name is Matt Tomsic.  I am a junior journalism major at UNC-Chapel Hill. Originally from Wilmington, N.C., I have worked for The Daily Tar Heel and Lumina News in Wrightsville Beach. Currently I am working as managing editor for Blue & White, a campus magazine, and for the News & Observer as an correspondent on the Under the Dome blog.