Orange County NC Website
4 <br /> The numbers of homeless persons in Orange County have increased dramatically. From <br /> January 1 through December 1, 1WK,the InterFaith Council Community House reported <br /> serving 878 individuals, of whom 2 out of 3 were males. Of this number, SW were Moan <br /> American, 272 were white, and 62 were Hispanic. An additional 12,000 families. moony female <br /> headed, were threatened with homelessness. <br /> The greatest Increase M the homeless population in Orange County was among women, <br /> children, and famines, frequently victims of domestic violence. Between 1991 and 1992.the <br /> number of homeless women Increased by 1 o percent and the number of homeless children <br /> Increased by 35 percent. Since the Battered Women's Shelter for Orange County and Durham <br /> County is located in Durham,women who wanted to maintain their children's attendance in <br /> the Chapel Hnl-Carrboro Schools had no other option but the homeless shelter. <br /> However.the InterFaith Council Community House, the only shelter that serves the needs of <br /> Orange County's homeless population, was not designed to accommodafe famines with <br /> children.There were no public or private single-room occupancy facilities in Orange County <br /> to provide transition for shelter residents. Substance abuse treatment was provided at only <br /> one halfway house for women, and no Comparable facilities existed for men. <br /> Public and Assisted Housing Needs <br /> Orange County's only public housing consisted of the 336 units located In Chapel Hill.As of <br /> May 1, 1998, 22 of these units were vacant, 16 of them were located in the South Estes Drive <br /> development, which was scheduled for renovation.The majority of Chapel HMI's public <br /> housing units were two- and three-bedroom units. <br /> Ths county's Section S program, administered by the Orange County Homing and <br /> Community Development Department, Included 403 certificates. 101 vouchers, and 97 <br /> moderate rehabliitation units.The other 269 units of assisted housing included the following: <br /> 68 from Section 8 new construction, 81 from the Farmers Home 615 program, 94 from <br /> Section 236, and 26 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Loan <br /> Management Program. <br /> Barriers to Affordable Housing <br /> The Consolidated Plan for Orange County identified the following barriers to affordable <br /> housing: <br /> • High cost of public improvements. In southern Orange County,where vacant <br /> land served by public utilities is very limited,the price of land with water and <br /> sewer service is too high for the development of affordable housing. In <br /> unincorporated Orange County, although land accessible to urban services is <br /> available. marry existing residences lack adequate plumbing facilities.An <br /> estimated 10-24 percent of county septic systems fail at any given moment. <br /> e Lack of adequate transportation.While the public transportation system In the <br /> Chapel Hill-Carrboro urban area Is comprehensive, access to jobs'and facilities <br /> outside the urban area is limited by a lack of transportation. <br /> Fair HounkM <br />