NAACP and residents urge Gastonia to act on student homelessness
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Summary
Three public speakers — Diana Graham (NAACP vice president), Sean Bates (NAACP president) and Sierra Hall (advocate with lived experience) — urged the Gastonia City Council to prioritize affordable housing, rapid rehousing and stronger social‑safety nets for families with school‑age children during the Oct. 21 public‑expression period.
Several residents and NAACP leaders used the City Council’s public‑expression period on Oct. 21 to press elected officials for immediate action on student homelessness, describing children who do homework in cars and families living in motels or doubled up with friends.
Diana Graham, vice president of the Gastonia NAACP branch, told the council student homelessness is “an urgent issue that weighs heavily on the community” and urged the council to prioritize the creation of affordable housing and to revisit sales or dispositions of city lots that carry high price tags she said are not affordable for families. She also asked that the city strengthen targeted rapid‑rehousing and rental‑assistance resources for families with school‑age children.
Sean Bates, president of the Gastonia NAACP, said the crisis is not abstract: “If one child is sleeping in a car tonight, then none of us should sleep comfortable.” Bates called for stronger partnership between schools, nonprofits and city agencies and asked that the matter move beyond talk to concrete commitments and transparency around accountability and timelines.
Sierra Hall, a resident and advocate who said she speaks from lived experience, said many people who need help are not visible on the streets and appealed for a collaborative approach that engages citizens and community groups. She said she would host a public meeting on Oct. 28 and invited council members to attend.
Council members acknowledged the comments. Earlier in the meeting a council member said Chairman Brown had agreed to create a task force with a representative from the school board, Janice Smith, to examine homelessness among students; that item was described from the dais as a forthcoming task force effort rather than a formal council vote.
No formal motions or funding decisions were made during public expression. The speakers asked the council to put the topic on a future agenda with specific action items including investment in deeply affordable units, expansion of shelter and family services, and clear reporting on the city’s and county’s available resources for rapid rehousing and rental assistance.
Ending: Speakers asked for urgency and a public follow‑up; council members and staff said they would coordinate next steps and that community experts and nonprofit partners would be included in any task force or follow‑up process.
