Across Wake County, more people are experiencing homelessness in plain sight, sleeping outdoors, living in encampments and seeking refuge wherever they can. Since 2020, unsheltered homelessness in Wake County has more than doubled, leaving people without a place to call home and prompting growing concern from residents across the community.
To meet that challenge, the Wake County Continuum of Care and its partners are launching Wake at Home, a public/private partnership and coordinated initiative designed to help people move from the streets into stable housing while building the local community's capacity to end more people's homelessness.
“Every person deserves the safety and stability of a home,” said Tara Waters of the Wake County Board of Commissioners. “This effort recognizes the humanity of people experiencing homelessness while responding to the concerns of the broader community. We believe those goals can and should go hand in hand.”
Wake at Home will begin with a targeted focus on resolving encampments. Building from successful local proof points and a nationally tested model, teams will connect individuals sleeping outside with housing and prevent encampments from returning to those sites. The County's Bridge to Home program and the City of Raleigh's Unsheltered Homelessness Response Pilot connected individuals to housing, health care, employment opportunities and other services that support long-term stability.
During its first phase, the initiative aims to:
- Connect 400 people living in encampments to housing and supportive services. Once residents have transitioned from an encampment into housing, the area can be restored for public use and monitored to prevent future unsafe conditions.
- Help 1,000 people who are experiencing homelessness for the first time quickly return to housing through targeted financial assistance and rapid resolution strategies.
- Provide intensive support and care coordination for individuals experiencing homelessness with complex behavioral health needs.
Phase 1 of Wake at Home represents a roughly $22 million investment in reducing unsheltered homelessness across Wake County through December 2027. The initiative is funded through a combination of public and private dollars, including existing and planned investments from local government partners.
For years, communities have spent significant resources responding to homelessness after people have already fallen into crisis. Wake at Home shifts that approach by investing in solutions that help people regain housing stability more quickly and reduce the need for emergency interventions later.
The initiative also focuses on preventing long-term homelessness. Local data show that thousands of adults experience homelessness in Wake County each year, but many can regain housing stability with small, short-term assistance such as help with a security deposit, temporary rental support or reunification with family.
“At a time when communities nationwide are searching for effective responses to unsheltered homelessness, Wake at Home represents a commitment to solutions grounded in evidence and human dignity,” said Eileen Rosa, Wake County Continuum of Care lead agency director. “Wake at Home will significantly grow our community's ability to help people regain housing stability more quickly, reduce unsheltered homelessness and create clearer pathways to housing, so that no one has to sleep outdoors in our community.”
Wake at Home is led by the Wake County Continuum of Care and its governance board in partnership with local governments, housing and health care organizations, nonprofit providers and community stakeholders across Wake County.
