The most vulnerable: As tent city grows, so do concerns over how it’s being managed

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (FOX 46 CHARLOTTE) – The Mecklenburg County virtual town hall meeting on homelessness had a huge turnout with over 300 people in attendance. The meeting served as a platform to educate the public on how the County is tackling the homelessness issue, particularly the large encampment outside of uptown Charlotte, Tent City.

District 4 County Commissioner Mark Jerrell said he felt encouraged that the public really does care about their fellow community members who are struggling, and that was displayed by the sheer number of people who showed up Thursday night.

“Allowing people to understand exactly why the situation came about, where we are in this situation, and what are the components that are contributing to the situation, I think is really important to level set,” Jerrell said.

In terms of the County’s plan to get the residents out of their tents and off the streets, At Large Commissioner Leigh Altman said they have a $34 million budget they are going to allocate to getting permanent affordable housing, and mental heath/addiction services.

“You know, a lot of the people who are living outside do have mental health issues, there are substance use issues there. I think there’s a real community that is felt by the people who are living unsheltered and they draw strength from that,” Altman said.

A resident of Tent City said the homeless need all the help they can get from their fellow community members and Mecklenburg County.

“It’s with great humility to hear different patron’s stories, it just makes you want to get better each and every day, but if we don’t have those opportunities or have people coming out here to help us we’re just going to be lost here,” said King David, a resident in the homelessness encampment.