GREENSBORO, N.C. — Merton McQueen has been staying at Greensboro Urban Ministry's Weaver House Shelter for a little over a month. He says he would not know what to do without the help of the shelter's staff.

"I've got the people helping me the best they can, and I've got to help myself as far as getting out there and getting a job and finding a place to stay," McQueen says.

He already has one job at a warehouse, but is looking for a second to afford his own housing. 

"It's hard out here to get a job with the pandemic. People are out there trying to get jobs, and the pandemic is holding them back from getting jobs," McQueen says.

Angel Baptist, a caseworker for the shelter, says she has been doing her best to help her clients find employment, but sometimes it is not enough for them to afford independent housing.

"It's about finding properties that they can afford. One of the biggest things is most jobs that my clients have don't make enough money to be able to afford housing," she says.

Baptist says it is nothing new for her and her team.

"We're always in a housing crisis. There's always not enough housing they can afford. There's not enough housing for the need. We ran into the pre-COVID and after COVID," she says.