What is the problem?
Almost 300 people were counted as experiencing homelessness on a single night in 2023 because they were either in an emergency shelter or living on the streets. That’s 300 too many.
The City of New Bedford’s Point In Time Count or “PIT” is an annual census of both sheltered and unsheltered adults and children who are experiencing homelessness in New Bedford. When the count was taken in 2023, it revealed that of the 294 counted, there are, on average, upwards of 60 people without any kind of shelter whatsoever, sleeping outside, in cars, in abandoned buildings and in places not meant for human habitation. Unfortunately there are not enough emergency shelter beds available in the city on the coldest nights forcing many homeless individuals and families to struggle for survival on the streets.
Homelessness is a complex issue that impacts those who are often characterized as an invisible part of our community. Anyone—anyone—can find themselves experiencing homelessness.
Homelessness includes folks who have experienced devastating medical expenses, lost their income through no fault of their own, are struggling with behavioral health and/or addiction issues, living with mental illness and those who are fleeing domestic violence or sexual exploitation. Men, women, children, black, or white…homelessness does not discriminate and there is no easy fix. Those experiencing homelessness need more than just a warm bed; they need compassionate access to health care, food, clothing, education, employment opportunities and safe permanent housing.
What is Rise Up For Homes?
Rise Up for Homes is a collaborative campaign established by the members of the City of New Bedford’s Homeless Service Providers Network [HSPN] designed to build community awareness as well as raise funds to meet the complex needs of individuals and families either on the verge of, or who are, experiencing homelessness in our community. We are working to change the narrative about homelessness, to present facts and conversation to create innovative solutions to the problem and to ensure everyone has a voice in this process.
The Inter-Church Council of Greater New Bedford, a non-profit 501(c)3 and member of the HSPN, serves as the fiscal conduit for of all money raised by the campaign. The HSPN’s Executive Committee governs all distributions and provides careful oversight of the funds.
Who is involved?
The City of New Bedford’s HSPN is a “continuum of care” or “CoC” network collaborative of more than 40 organizations founded in 1996. The New Bedford CoC has secured millions of dollars in federal grants leveraged with private funding over the years. The group is made up of local agencies, community organizations, private sector businesses, faith-based leadership and individual community members all committed to collaboration in ensuring a pathway to prevent and end homelessness. Out of the HSPN came Rise Up for Homes.
How does your donation help?
By supporting Rise Up for Homes, you acknowledge that the present system in New Bedford does not meet the entire need our commuity faces in ensuring emergency shelter and long-term affordable housing. Your donation will help us meet the most pressing needs of our unsheltered and poverty-level neighbors in Greater New Bedford. With a commitment to fostering positive change and creating a tangible impact, these funds will be invested in a set of initiatives that provide essential resources and support systems.
We now encourage you to personally get involved and be part of the change you want to see in our community.
Facts About Homelessness in New Bedford:
Consistent with federal standards set forth from the U.S. Department of Housing & Community Development (HUD), New Bedford’s annual Point In Time (PIT) Count is conducted each year in January to determine how many people are experiencing homelessness in New Bedford on a given24 hour period. The most recent count was conducted on Wednesday overnight into Thursday, January 25th-26th and revealed the following:
Overall Count: The 2023 Point In Time (PIT) Count identified 373 people, both sheltered and unsheltered, a figure consistent with the previous two years but below the 14 year PIT Count average of 385.
Poor weather on the night of the 2023 Count meant the cold weather overflow shelter was open so those typically unsheltered were able to stay indoors that night. When combining numbers of those unsheltered with those in the overflow shelter, the true number of total unsheltered rises to 97, doubling counts recorded in previous years.
The ratio of single adult-only households to family households with children was almost 5:1.
As has historically been the case, among both sheltered and unsheltered adults, severe mental illness and substance use disorder was the most prevalent self-identified subpopulation in 2023 followed by domestic violence.
In 2023 the number of those who were unsheltered and self-identifying as having a severe mental illness and/or substance use disorder was at its highest level since the count has been undertaken; the 2023 figures were triple that of 2021’s count.
More sheltered and unsheltered people self-identified as being HIV+ than in any previous year, likely attributable to the prevalence of opioid abuse.
Among both sheltered and unsheltered people, those self-identifying as having a serious mental illness and/or substance use disorder, are at their highest levels in the past seven years.
For the third successive year, New Bedford had zero veterans living on the streets.
In 2023, roughly half of those who were unsheltered met the federal definition of being “chronically homeless” while only 15% of the 306 individuals who were sheltered met that definition, an indication that the most vulnerable populations remain unhoused.
The number of sheltered and unsheltered unaccompanied youth (those aged 18-24) increased in 2023 by 80% over the previous year and reflects a total almost 30% over the 10 year average.
Although emergency shelter utilization in 2023 surpassed the previous year’s rate, both transitional housing and permanent housing utilization fell below 2022 rates by roughly 12% and 13%, respectively.
The low utilization rate for Permanent Housing (PH) has fallen below the federal 85% threshold for PH projects requiring careful review and correction to ensure New Bedford is filling its PH units as quickly as possible and reducing homelessness.
The City of New Bedford, through its Office of Housing & Community Development (OHCD), provides federal resources through HUD to prevent and end homelessness including funding from Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG), the HOME Program, Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and the Continuum of Care (CoC) Competition. These funds are competitively awarded to a range of agencies to ensure that the maximum amount of affordable housing opportunities, shelter beds and needed resources are made available.