Twin County coalition urges $1 million for permanent supportive housing, asks council to fund navigation program

A United Way‑convened Twin County Homeless Coalition presented council members with local homelessness data, personal accounts from people who experienced housing instability and a set of funding recommendations intended to create a local plan, navigation services and permanent supportive housing.

Ginny Morbutter, executive director of United Way Tar River Region, opened the presentation and said the coalition is "a group of dedicated, focused, and community‑driven leaders" seeking to lay out recommendations for the Twin County area. The group brought three people with lived experience to the meeting: a parent enrolled in the school‑linked program, a Bassett Center resident and a Rocky Mount police officer; those speakers described short‑term shelter stays, unpaid bills and hardship tied to job loss and bereavement.

Why it matters: presenters said the local data and personal testimony show rising need for both short‑term shelter and longer‑term, supportive housing. The coalition urged the city to help sustain planning and start a homelessness navigation program and a permanent supportive housing initiative that the group argues will reduce emergency service costs over time.

What the coalition proposed - Local plan to end homelessness: United Way is leading a community‑driven planning effort (the council previously allocated $300,000 of state grant funding for a plan at a January meeting, the coalition said). The plan would be a prerequisite to seek additional state and federal funding and could support the creation of a more local Continuum of Care structure. - Homelessness navigation program: the coalition proposed a navigation hub staffed by a master’s‑level social worker, operated by United Way and located in Braswell Library space; the request for the navigation program is $330,000 spread across three years. The navigator would provide street outreach coordination, rapid connections to services, and case management. - Permanent supportive housing: the coalition recommended $1,000,000 as seed funding for a “housing first” permanent supportive‑housing model (a village or campus with on‑site services). Presenters cited model programs in Austin (Community First Village), Hickory (Family Care Center) and Raleigh (Kings Ridge) and described those programs’ on‑site services and high housing retention rates.

Data and local impact - United Way reported that in 2024, 45% of 5,130 needs logged through 2‑1‑1 were housing related; 49% of those housing requests were unmet, with lack of available resources the most common reason listed. - Nash County Public Schools staff said Nash identified 254 students without a fixed, regular, adequate nighttime residence as of March 1; most of those students were "doubled up" with family or friends or living in motels. - Edgecombe County Schools said their identified McKinney‑Vento students have increased in 2024–25, with the largest living‑arrangement category being doubled‑up households.

Service providers’ perspective Cindy Worthy of United Community Ministries said UCM operates two shelters (the Bassett Center for families and a community shelter for individuals) and aims to move residents to transitional or permanent housing within 90 days but frequently cannot because funding and affordable units are unavailable. She told council UCM’s annual operating need is roughly $672,000 and that UCM receives city, county and private support; UCM requested continued local support.

Presenters noted local resources and next steps Nikki Hill, assistant city manager, said council had approved funding for a local plan in January and that the coalition’s proposed navigation program and seed housing money would help implement the strategy that planning would define. Presenters said they are pursuing other sources — including potential county opioid‑settlement funds and project‑based vouchers through the housing authority — and that partners such as Kings Ridge in Raleigh have offered pro bono technical assistance.

Requests and follow up The coalition asked council to consider allocating funds within the FY2026 budget process for a three‑year navigation program ($330,000) and to consider $1 million in seed funding for permanent supportive housing. Coalition members said they would pursue additional public and private funding and asked council to coordinate outreach to Nash and Edgecombe counties and other local stakeholders.

Ending note: Council members thanked the group for the detailed presentation; several members said they supported a collaborative approach with the counties rather than the city being the sole funder. The coalition said it will continue stakeholder outreach and that the next coalition meeting is scheduled for April 30.