RALEIGH, N.C. — Despite recent cuts to social service and grant programs, many nonprofits in North Carolina say the need in their communities only continues to grow. The number of people without a place to live increased to its highest level in 2024 since the National Alliance to End Homelessness started tracking data in the early 2000s.  

What You Need To Know

  • Project REACH OUT is a one-stop shop event in Moore Square in downtown Raleigh
  • The Downtown Raleigh Alliance’s Ambassador Program invites those experiencing homelessness or at risk to take part in Day of Care twice a year
  • It connects people in need with support services and resources
  • Services offered include: Clean showers, free hygiene products, haircuts, dental services, clean clothes, connection to housing providers and health services

The annual point in time count found 23 out of every 10,000 people in the U.S. were experiencing homelessness, and nearly 12,000 North Carolinians were without a permanent place to live.  

So to help those in need, community partners come together twice a year for a special day of support in the heart of the state’s capital.

It may look like a fair, but on this warm spring day, the streets are filled with vendors for the Project REACH OUT: Day of Care.    

“It is a one-day event where we’ve invited all the social service providers to come and meet with the people who need their help the most,” said Kimberley Jones, special assistant for Downtown Raleigh Alliance

Twice a year, the Downtown Raleigh Alliance hosts the day of outreach, which is a chance for social service providers and nonprofits to gather in one spot, offering things many of us often take for granted like dental care, a haircut and a clean set of clothes.   

“Having a fresh haircut so they can look real handsome and real pretty boosts your self esteem. And having access to clean water, you may not have access to clean water every day. This is really what we take for granted,” said Darlene McClain, a social service specialist for DRA.  

McClain is part of the organization’s Ambassador Program. All year long, people reach out to her looking for help, not knowing where to turn, she said.  

“Where do I go for mailing services, where do I go for showers, where do I go for housing resources, who do I speak to about veterans services?” McClain said of the questions she often receives.    

“So the benefits of having this twice a year is that people are informed of what services are available. So, because they’re aware, they’re able to go directly to that service provider that can assist them in their need,” she said.    

When Pamela Owens first started attending Project REACH OUT three years ago, her nonprofit ReNew Mobile Shower offered a tent with hygiene items. But as she’s seen the need increase, so have the services she provides. Now, the organization also provides multiple units of clean running water showers for those who need them.  

“The more I see now are people with full-time jobs that can’t afford the rents, so they’re actually working full-time but they’re still homeless because the rent is a little bit too high for them to afford,” Owens said of the people she’s seeing more of this year.  

She said a simple shower, especially during the hot spring and summer months, is vital to helping someone keep or get a job, which only helps them have a better chance of staying off the streets.  

“It helps your mental, it helps the physical, all around,” she added.   

In addition to the showers, the event offers free pedicures, immunizations and eye screenings. And Dress for Success provides blazers and other work attire to help people looking for a job.  

But it’s about more than just the tangible. Behavior, mental and physical health service providers are also on hand, along with housing service connections, to link those in attendance with the help providers and resources they need.  

“It’s difficult for that person to navigate the system and know where to go to get the help. So we felt bringing the providers to the people would help to minimize that difficulty and challenge to get the services that they need,” Jones said.  

It’s a hand up, not a handout, helping their neighbors better understand that the community truly cares.  

“There are organizations that provide the services in the long run, so that people aren’t just feeling hopeless and helpless," Jones said.    

For people in the downtown Raleigh area and needs help, or for people who an can volunteer or offer support services, contact the Downtown Raleigh Alliance.  

The city also provides year-round care and assistance for those in need. Visit their website for more information on Resources for Housing Crisis and Homelessness.