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Raleigh reports early success after housing-focused pilot decommissions Dix Park camp; 45 households enrolled
Summary
City staff presented results from the 'Bringing Neighbors Home' pilot: all 45 enrolled households moved into housing or have active housing plans; the pilot combined rapid rehousing, camp decommissioning, direct housing assistance, and case management and will inform a broader planning and funding proposal.
Raleigh staff presented preliminary findings from the Bringing Neighbors Home pilot, reporting that all 45 enrolled households at a camp near Dix Park have either moved into housing or have an active housing plan with case managers.
Emily Sutton (Housing and Neighborhoods) summarized the pilot’s model: a rapid rehousing and direct housing assistance approach paired with intensive case management and coordinated outreach. Staff described partnerships formed through an RFP process last summer: Socrato Strategies (project management), Healing Transitions and Oak City Cares (outreach and case management), Ascent Populi (financial administration and data systems), and the University of Pennsylvania housing initiative (evaluation partner). Staff said the camp adjacent to Healing Transitions was selected because of elevated health and safety conditions and that engagement began in October, enrollment in November and December, and decommissioning was completed in January.
Sutton said early results show improved health and housing stability: two people reunited with their children, participants obtaining employment, and improved access to health care and supports. Staff argued the pilot’s per-person annual cost (~$24,000, as cited in staff slides) is lower than the high daily taxpayer costs for managing unsheltered homelessness. The pilot will expand with council-approved funds to serve additional downtown households and will be integrated into a community-wide Bringing Neighbors Home planning initiative led by a 48-member steering committee representing public, private, non-profit, and lived-experience stakeholders. The steering committee has overseen a needs-and-gaps assessment and will recommend resource allocations; staff said they will return with a draft plan and identified resource gaps for council consideration.
Council members praised the approach and asked about budgeting for continued work; staff said they will return with the plan’s resource-gap analysis for budget consideration. Sutton also reported that the pilot received national attention at the National Alliance to End Homelessness conference.
