DURHAM, N.C. — Some people who can't make ends meet are turning to homeless shelters. 

What You Need To Know

  • Americans are moving mostly to southeast states, including North Carolina, according to a report from Pods, a moving and storage company

  • The report compares moving trends from November 2021 to this year, citing lower cost of living, good weather, and more space and access to nature as some of the many reasons

  • With the demand for housing, rent prices across North Carolina are going up. A report from Rent.com shows the Raleigh-Cary area has seen the biggest percentage increase in median rent, a rise of 21.9%

The CEO of the Durham Rescue Mission says at the women and children’s center, they are at their highest number of people ever, up 34% from last year. The shelter believes rising rent prices and inflation are to blame, and that’s exactly why Allyson Wilkins says she and her 1-year-old son don’t have a place to call their own.

“Me and my son's father, we were living together before we came here, but we got evicted," Wilkins said.

When the pandemic hit, Wilkins says she got sick and took time off of work during her pregnancy. She and her partner eventually split up and the now single mom spent months couch hopping without a penny to her name.

“I felt, like, abandoned because my family didn’t really want to help me when I really needed it at that time," she said.

It’s what led the two to the Durham Rescue Mission. For the last six months, Wilkins has been working two jobs to save up for an apartment.

Today’s escalating rental prices still keep her up at night.

“I feel a lot better being here now. I feel like I can do it," Wilkins said. "I mean you basically have to work two jobs to afford rent. That’s too much.”“I feel a lot better being here now. I feel like I can do it," Wilkins said. "I mean you basically have to work two jobs to afford rent. That’s too much.”

Wilkins knows she’s not alone in her struggle. And without the mission’s help, she isn’t sure where she’d be.

A place to call her own is what keeps Wilkins' spirits high because she knows it’s a dream worth fighting for.

“Keep your head up, save your money, whatever silly money you get save it, because you’re going to make it," she said.

Americans have been moving mostly to states in the southeast, including North Carolina, according to an annual report from Pods, a moving and storage company.

That has increased demand for housing, and rents across North Carolina are going up. A report from Rent.com shows the Raleigh-Cary area has seen the biggest percentage increase in median rent, a rise of 21.9%.

Triangle Apartment Association government affairs director Dustin Engelken says there are a lot of contributing factors to the rent rise – the pandemic being a big one.

“Obviously, during the pandemic was a lot of nonpayment of rent and other issues that caused significant financial loss, too. So, you’ve got a lot of housing providers who are in the red with the pandemic that needed to recoup those costs. So, between that and other factors that I think are outside of everyone’s control in the wider economy, you’ve got a perfect storm for again what would be an unprecedented increase in rent increases," Engelken said.

Engelken says there had been a significant shortage of new housing production in the Triangle, and more people are moving to the area now demanding housing.

However, he believes that’s beginning to change as production ramps up, and that will likely lead to a decrease in rents.