Raleigh City Council Asks Mayor for a Plan to Address Homelessness by Next Week
The Raleigh City Council in North Carolina voted unanimously on October 20 to ask Mayor Janet Cowell to present a plan to address homelessness by the October 27 council meeting, centered on funding a district coordinator role. Over the past two years the city has considered and abandoned options including a large shelter at Moore Square and buying the Sunni Park motel; in August it closed a downtown homeless encampment.
Councilmember Stormie Forte, recently re-elected, called the step 'a long time coming,' noting that people experiencing homelessness from surrounding counties converge on downtown Raleigh. Councilmember Mary Black said pooling resources and data, rather than working in silos, is the better approach, and newly elected member Mitchell Silver said the city still lacks a central coordinating hub.
Mayor Cowell acknowledged the city had spent too much time 'discussing feasibility' without acting. She cited National Alliance to End Homelessness data showing the national homeless population grew 18.1% between 2023 and 2024. (GSM, from HR Dive reporting)
Related: Raleigh Rescue Mission Opens $41 Million Campus, Serving Up to 350 Women and Children Daily
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：罗利市中心天际线。作者 Lukaodani，CC BY-SA 4.0，来源 Wikimedia Commons。Photo: Downtown Raleigh skyline. By Lukaodani, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
