ROANOKE, Va. – The holidays are a time to spend with family and friends, open gifts, and share a meal. But for those experiencing homelessness, it’s a different story.
The U.S. reached a bleak milestone: 2023 saw a 12% increase in homelessness.
A new report released this month, reveals about 653,100 people were experiencing homelessness at any given time. That’s the highest number ever reported since 2007 when the country began using the yearly point-in-time survey to count the homeless population.
“It’s no secret that we’ve seen a rise in homelessness in our region,” said Roanoke Rescue Mission Director of Communications Kevin Berry.
Between skyrocketing rent prices and the end of pandemic assistance funding, Berry said everyone has a different story.
“Somebody may have lost their employment. somebody may have found themselves in addiction. somebody may have just had something totally out of their control that caused them to fall into homelessness,” said Berry.
The mission is seeing a 30% increase in people staying at the shelter since last year and since September.
“Whatever got you here, that’s in the past,” said Berry. “We’re here to help you step forward in your life and find immediate help and long-term help here at the Rescue Mission.
On Christmas Day, the Mission served over 700 meals. And this holiday season, the nonprofit wants to raise $125,000.
“What we’re here to do is to provide food, shelter, emergency medical care, recovery programming, job skills training,” said Berry.
Meeting an immediate need and finding sustainable solutions.
“That’s really the critical part, is not just helping somebody in that moment, but finding a way that they don’t fall back into homelessness again,” said Berry.
If you’d like to donate to the Rescue Mission’s holiday fundraising campaign, click here.