Services Provided

Despite the many agencies in Durham that provide services to homeless people, some agencies felt that their services are not fully utilized. However, in addition to emergency services, such as providing "three hots and a cot" (three meals and a bed), services are needed that can perform comprehensive assessments and help with navigating the resources available to them. "Society should help them with their coping skills to be more successful in dealing with situations in their lives." Service providers also mentioned a need for education to be fit for the new industries, since, as one provider pointed out, "uneducated people generally struggle with making ends meet economically."

Most agencies interviewed had knowledge of other services available in the area (as displayed in Appendix E). However, providers perceived the level of service coordination differently, from being very adequate to being a series of superficial networks mostly focused on food distribution. Other providers perceived the shelter programs in Durham "as a means to keep people off the streets and to attract more people to downtown Durham." A few providers also challenged the effectiveness and underlying intent of certain programs. One provider asserted that "there will always be the homeless … if there weren't, the providers would be out of jobs"!

Durham's History with Homelessness

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Barriers to Access/Hard to Reach Groups