It’s only early in the year 2024.
However, the Guilford County Homelessness Taskforce and the Guilford County Board of Commissioners are already months behind a self-stated goal that Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Skip Alston announced in early 2023. That goal was to have every homeless person off the streets of Guilford County by the time it turned cold in the winter of 2023.
That goal clearly was not reached so, the new grandiose (and more realistic) goal will be to have all homeless people in Guilford County off the streets by the time it turns cold in winter of 2024.
There were some major steps taken to help mitigate the problem this winter, but it wasn’t enough for many of the Guilford County Commissioners. Beds for the homeless were added at some facilities; the county has purchased a former nursing home and is converting it into a facility that should help homeless people with behavioral problems; and county officials have studied the actual number of homeless people in the county in order to discern the size of the problem.
The cities of Greensboro and High Point are also implementing short and long-term measures meant to help, and community groups have taken care packages with needed food and supplies to the homeless as well as conducted welfare checks.
To move the effort forward, the Homelessness Task Force – which includes elected officials, county staff, and representatives of community groups – has scheduled a meeting for Monday, Jan. 22, at 4 p.m. The meeting will be held in the City Lake Event Center at High Point City Lake Park at 602 W. Main St. in Jamestown.
Community organization leaders, members of the homeless community and other interested people are free to attend. The committee meeting is open to the public.
There will be a virtual viewing option over ZOOM as well. People can visit the Zoom platform at https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1600530431 and complete the webinar registration, then select the option to join from the confirmation email prior to the meeting, and choose one of the audio options.
After joining the webinar, you can also call (646) 828-7666 and enter webinar ID 160 053 0431 if asked for the code.
Skip talks the talk now can he walk the walk? County has raised taxes now how will dollars really be used or wasted? It will be interesting to watch the time line until completion.
In another 6 years, there won’t be a homeless problem, since, according to world renowned climate scientist AOC, the world will burn us all up anyway.
No, that Global warming is now bringing blizzards! Who would thought?
This is the result of poor leadership, plain and simple. It seems if projects don’t affect the council personally it will drag its heels.
Lets just let it go, who cares anyway. There is plenty of streets for these useless persons to live. They don’t want to
work or live life like humans. They kill good persons if they are given a chance to be helped. They are nasty and their mind are not sane. Their value to society is zero. I certainly don’t care about them. If they are killed or die we are all better off. Good ridden to bad rubbish. Lets move on to better thins that will help quality persons in Greensboro North Carolina. We can do better!!!
Blah blah blah nothing but talk for years! We will be working with the same people we’ve been working with for many years! They think apartments are the answer and it’s a joke.
howbout barracks, tents, longhouses, cubbies, 4 homeless . . . with a ‘substance dispenser’ nearby to attract them voluntarily ? more humane than prison or psych ward or exile or shunning or a good beating ?