Guilford County government, which has been attempting to address homelessness in a big way in recent years, is turning things up a notch: The county is establishing a brand-new department solely focused on addressing that issue.
The new department director will oversee funding and resource allocation from Housing and Urban Development and other sources, data dashboards, crisis management, stakeholder engagement, system-of-care development, policy development regarding homelessness and more.
The job listing states that the director will supervise six positions budgeted under the new Guilford County Homeless Services Department.
After an ad for a director appeared on the county’s job website, Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston confirmed to the Rhino Times that the county is creating a new department.
“The director will need some support staff,” Alston said.
Alston said he doesn’t know what the ultimate cost of adding the new department will be, but he said the problem had gotten to the point where the county needed a dedicated branch of government to address it.
The salary for the director position is listed with a range of $97,513 to $121,891 a year.
The job description states that the director will be in charge of coordinating the county’s efforts with the local Continuum of Care – which handles federal funding grants for addressing homelessness – and will also be in charge of developing and implementing strategies so that “homelessness is brief, infrequent and trauma-informed.”
Alston said he hopes the county gets the new department up and running “sooner rather than later.”
He added, “I hope it is by the end of the year.”
The region’s homelessness numbers have been creeping upward and complaints about the issue in Guilford County, Greensboro and High Point have been rising. Earlier this month, the City of Greensboro’s Community Relations Division noted that among resident complaints for fiscal year 2024-2025, two top concerns were homelessness and panhandling.
The new Guilford County Homeless Services Department is meant to provide a coordinated, strategic approach rather than a patchwork of independent efforts. The job description for the director indicates that he or she will have to keep one eye on federal Housing and Urban Development policies as well as another eye on local data dashboards, contracts, collaboratives and stakeholder relationships – from government agencies to nonprofits and community groups.
The county is facing a balancing act when it comes to this problem: The county needs to help the people out and provide them services but do so in a way that doesn’t attract more homeless to the county.
Homeless people talk with one another and the word gets around regarding the best places in the state or the region to go for the best treatment and services.
The creation of this new department – with the wholesale plan to have six support staff from the start – is different than the way the county handled the Minority and Women Business Enterprise Department.
That was done very gradually.
Years ago, the county’s MWBE efforts used to be handled entirely by an assistant director in the Guilford County Purchasing Department. Then the county hired a director. Then added two support staff. Then, in January of 2025 added five positions at once – which means now that department, with duties that were once handled part time by one county employee, now has eight employees. The budget of course also grew and it is currently well over $1 million a year.
Quietly, earlier this year, the county, like a magician, eliminated the entire department. That was after the Trump administration started defunding just about everything they could find related to diversity, equity and inclusion and minority advancement.
In place of the Guilford County MWBE Department, the county began an exact replica department with the same positions – only the new department was called Guilford County Small Business and Entrepreneurship Department; thus, it was less likely to be flagged by a Trump administration search for anything that smells like something promoting DEI.
The new Guilford County Homeless Services Department will include and fund the half dozen budgeted positions, and rely on the use of county clerical and managerial support, public relations/communications, data management and other resources.
The problem of homelessness is connected with the lack of affordable housing in Guilford County and the commissioners themselves may make some people homeless in the coming years since the current Board of Commissioners shows no signs that it will reverse its course of raising property tax bills and foreclosing on those who cannot pay those bills.
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Well, you can never have too many bureaucrats, can you?
We can all look forward to homelessness in Guilford County being a thing of the past….
Right.
I say, stop feeding the animals and they’ll go away.
They’re gonna need that staff to handle all the people displaced by the upcoming property tax hikes.
Good job. Now they need to coordinate with the Cities and nonprofits that serve those in need. It’s about time the County realized this is a Human Services and Mental Health issue and is primarily, not completely, but primarily the County.
Oh, that’s what the homeless need is another agency that DOES NOTHING for them, and let’s pay collective salaries of $500k plus to produce memos that produce reports that “something needs to be done”. While we’re at it, let’s address the fact that white people in need usually receive little if nothing in terms of help. The Greensboro Police and Guilford County Sheriffs Departments know where the homeless encampments are and who’s in them. Ask them about a demographic breakdown. I’m tired of my tax money going to failed administration by people I never voted for.
A new 7 position department for more government bloat and Skip has no clue of cost. No surprise there since he’ll increase your taxes some more for another pet project. The county allows panhandling and invites the homeless. It’s not very hard to see who and why the issues are growing. Don’t worry, John Q Public to the rescue. Along with increased taxes, another shot of DEI coming soon. As Scott stated, with the increased taxes, how many citizens will lose their homes? Bet Skip has that figured out too.
Imagine that, a new Department and all the costs associated paid for by Guilford County Taxpayers! Skip Alston is so good at giving your tax money dollars away to others. And that is to specific others! Wake up Guilford County Voters! The Fox is in the Henhouse!
Do these people work for free
Oh great! Just another reason to raise our property taxes by half next year. Not needed Skippy!!!