Homelessness in Durham

In Durham, it is as difficult to obtain an accurate estimate of the scope of homelessness as it is anywhere. In March 2000, however, the staff of the Durham Affordable Housing Coalition and Housing for New Hope, in conjunction with the U.S. Census, conducted a point-in-time estimate. This method, which is often used to make estimates of numbers of homeless people, attempts to count all of the people who are literally homeless on a given day. The count found 395 people sheltered in the service agencies, including 34 people residing on the streets, which represented an increase of 46 people (or 12%) compared to 1998. The increase was particularly striking given the warmer weather during the year 2000 count (Durham Affordable Housing Coalition, 2000).

A needs assessment survey administered in 1992 through local service agencies in Durham provided a sample demographic profile of two groups: those who were homeless (i.e., living in a shelter, transitional house, or a place not intended or fit for human habitation) and those at risk of being homeless (i.e., long-term doubled-up housing without paying rent, or due to no income in an emergency situation). The majority of those people surveyed were homeless for the first time (60%), with an average length of 3 months. Of the individuals who were interviewed, 75% had been Durham residents for one year. Interviewees reported having lived in Durham for an average of 12 years and in North Carolina for an average of 24 years. There was a disproportionately high representation of African-Americans in both the conventionally homeless (66%) and the at-risk (82%) categories (Durham Affordable Housing Coalition, 2000). The limited quantitative data available on homelessness in Durham suggest that most community members who are homeless have lived in the area for a while and that many have become homeless for the first time only recently.

The qualitative data produced by this AOCD project provides an additional window into the experiences and lives of homeless community members in Durham. Many of these issues will be described in detail in the following sections of this document.

Definitions of Homelessness

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Secondary Data Analysis