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Dorchester County coalition presents 3-year strategic plan to address homelessness
Summary
A coalition led by Dorchester Forward presented a three-year, countywide plan focused on strengthening collaboration, increasing access to affordable housing and building a responsive system of care to address rising local homelessness counts.
Nancy Shockley, representing the Dorchester County Homeless Coalition and Dorchester Forward, presented a three-year strategic plan to the Dorchester County Council on Aug. 5, outlining priorities to coordinate services, expand affordable housing and improve a system of care for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
The plan was developed after regional data collection and public outreach, Shockley said. She cited a point-in-time count conducted by Metro Behavioral Health Systems that recorded 71 people on a single day this year — 66 in shelters and five unsheltered — and a 184 percent increase in one metric from the prior year. She also referenced rising McKinney-Vento counts in county schools, from 80 in 2018–19 to 179 in 2024–25, with about 109 students noted as living in unstable situations at the time the plan was developed.
The plan sets three priorities: 1) strengthen…
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