Homelessness has been top of mind in the region lately. New Hanover County commissioners voted to ban sleeping on its property earlier this year, which pushed a community of homeless individuals off of the downtown library property and into the sidewalks, streets, and the woods.
The city has addressed complaints from residents by presenting the constitutional case that panhandling is a form of free speech, essentially showing that the city’s hands are tied — and that police can’t enforce a panhandling ban without infringing people’s rights.
In the midst of these discussions and policy changes, nearly one in seven Cape Fear residents have told WHQR they’re concerned about homelessness. They were concerned about reducing the "criminality" of homelessness, about encampments. Others worried about the connection to addiction and mental illness, or panhandling, or they worried about the welfare of homeless veterans. At the bus station, drivers said they were seeing more and more riders impacted by homelessness, and that the problems are getting worse.
Navid Amlany is a pharmacist at the hospital, and said he sees a lot of unhoused folks who’ve been discharged from the Emergency Room. WHQR interviewed him after he responded to the Community Agenda survey.
“These are usually folks who, you know, they have the same chronic conditions as anybody else, but they can't care for themselves," he explains. "So you have diabetics who can't get insulin or oral medications to treat their diabetes, and then they get infections because they're exposed to the elements and everything, so they come in to us.”
He said substance abuse often plays into it, but he’ll see people in the ER just because they have nowhere else to go during a storm or in winter. It’s a costly way to house the desperate.
“Housing first policies are more effective, both in terms of getting people off the streets, and in terms of saving cost,” he said.
Louise Miller shared her opinion after a meeting for the League of Women Voters. She also supports a Housing First policy, but says housing alone can’t solve the community’s problems.
“I link the homeless situation with mental health issues. We don't take care of our community's mental health issues. I think we're not addressing half the homeless problem.”
She’s also a big supporter of Good Shepherd Center’s permanent supportive housing programs.
“I think we have — we, meaning the government, the community - has to step up and take proactive efforts, not just feel pity for them when they're landing on the street, but try to provide options, things that Good Shepherd does.”
Sylvia Santaballa ties the problem of homelessness to the affordable housing crisis.
“I mean, the majority of people that are unhoused are folks that are from our own communities, usually the largest percentage, I think there's a misconception that unhoused people are coming from someplace else and busting here. And then you know, busking because they can't afford to live here, where I think it's more sometimes people are just like, one, one paycheck away, one, you know, a lot job lost from being on the street.”
The city has the ability to impact homelessness by funding projects like Eden Village or nonprofits like Good Shepherd Center or Salvation Army. Each has a different philosophy, but with the level of need, every little bit helps.
The city council election is Nov. 7, and the deadline for voter registration is Oct. 13. There is a new voter ID law in effect, but voters can get eligible IDs at the DMV or the Board of Elections office. More information on voting in the Wilmington election is available at the New Hanover County website.
