FROM THE BOARD
Dear Friends,
Sun. Soil. Seeds.
Water and Food.
Many elements must come together to grow a flourishing garden.
Similarly, many components must come together to help individuals and families secure safe, affordable, and stable housing: Prevent homelessness when possible; Divert some people into more effective solutions; Coordinate entry into the homeless response system; Collect and analyze data so we know what is working and where we have gaps; Provide quality training in best practices; Advocate for an infrastructure of affordable housing, good jobs, living wages, access to food. All these factors are necessary to create a flourishing homeless response system that is effective, efficient, and enduring.
Bringing together and advocating for all these elements is the work of the Raleigh/Wake Partnership to End Homelessness so that homelessness in our community is rare, brief, and nonrecurring.
Many of us in Raleigh Wake County are thriving: Most livable city, Best place to start a business, Rising property values. Still, many others are struggling and seeing their grasp on housing and sustainable wages weaken. The COVID pandemic has hit people living on the margins of our socioeconomic community the hardest.
This may be the most important time in our lifetimes for all of us to come together as a community to provide the resources that will make our homeless response system flourish. Please read on to discover the ways the Partnership is fiercely pursuing this goal of a better system for ending homelessness. We hope you will join us in our mission.
Together in Community,
Board of Directors,
Raleigh Wake Partnership to End Homelessness
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to leverage the power of community to address systemic causes of homelessness through coordinated response, education, data, and advocacy.
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Dear Partners,
Imagine you’re a single mom of two. You lost your job and childcare due to the pandemic. You’re behind on the rent and in danger of being evicted.
Imagine you’re a veteran that came back from serving your country. You’re struggling with PTSD and trying to find your place in the world. You’ve been living on the streets and don’t know where to turn.
Imagine you’re a teenager that got kicked out of your family home for coming out as LGBTQ. You’ve been couch surfing and trying but failing to keep up with school.
These are just a few of the types of calls our Access Hub specialists receive every day. Real people, needing real help just to survive. Just over a year ago, that mom would have had to try to call multiple agencies before connecting with the right assistance. Thanks to our work in Coordinated Access, those individuals only have to call one number to be connected to the resources they need to secure stable housing and a path forward. Our work makes a difference – and we’re only getting started.
2020/2021 has been a foundational year for the Partnership. We’ve been planting the seeds of change in Wake County by creating a more streamlined system, gathering and sharing real data, and working with our partner agencies to create solutions to better help those experiencing homelessness. Our programs are taking root and we’re beginning to see the impact, but there’s so much more to be done.
We continue to see unprecedented need. Wake County is experiencing an extreme housing shortage. Racial and socioeconomic inequities continue to threaten the housing stability of an already vulnerable population. Our county is underfunded compared to other communities of our size. Oh and yes, there’s still a pandemic raging.
The issue of homelessness is big, complex and ever-changing, and much larger than any one organization can handle alone. But, by working together we can make a difference. That’s why the Partnership remains dedicated to bringing our community experts together to share ideas, knowledge and work towards increasing the resources available to Wake County. It’s going to take creativity and a lot of hard work, but we can get there. We can end homelessness in Wake County. Will you join us?
Kim Crawford
Executive Director
The Partnership at a Glance
The Raleigh Wake Partnership to End Homelessness (the Partnership) serves as the leader of community partner organizations in Wake County. This coalition is committed to developing a coordinated system to better help individuals and families experiencing homelessness and lead them to self-sufficiency.
Who We Are
In simplest terms, the Partnership is a group of caring, expert professionals dedicated to ending homelessness by providing data driven solutions that enable partners to better serve those in need and address the root causes of the issue. We work through the power of partnerships and collaboration to create a stronger and more efficient service system. By providing a formal network of agencies, gaps are closed, redundancies eliminated, and real solutions are created.
Our Work
- Serve as the Raleigh/Wake area HMIS Lead, Coordinated Entry Lead, Planning Lead, and Collaborative Applicant (NOFA)
- Create and maintain community partnerships, committees and workgroups
- Collect, analyze and share data
- Improve housing and crisis response services through data and best practices
- Innovate new programs in response to crisis and evolving needs
- Increase public awareness through education and advocacy
WE BELIEVE
- People’s human rights and basic needs should be met, and the intrinsic value of humanity respected.
- Homelessness is a public health crisis caused by system inequities such as racism and other-isms. It can and must be fixed.
- Our work makes a difference.
Read the next section:
Cultivating Innovation
