Number of Homeless Cumberland County Families Continues to Increase
posted by Jacqueline Leibman | April 11, 2022 | In NewsThe COVID-19 pandemic effects are still being felt as the number of homeless families in Cumberland Country continues to grow. According to WNCN, social workers are struggling to handle the increase in homeless families since the moratorium on eviction was lifted in August 2021.
Sheila Campbell is a Cumberland Country social worker—one of 88 who handle “more than 44,000 students in the Cumberland County School System.”
“Our social workers are key to making sure our students are safe healthy and successful,” 71st Middle School Principal Todd Yardis said to WNCN.
WNCN spoke to Vanessa Diamond, a woman who have been living in a Fayetteville shelter for the past month with her husband and five children: “They don’t like it. They are ready to get out of here. They want their own place, their own yard.”
“We are trying to find them shelter, food and transportation,” Campbell said to WNCN. “People losing their cars. People losing their jobs. You know trying to find resources for all the parents.”
According to the Homeless Shelter Directory, there are only nine shelters in Cumberland County with a total of 260 beds. It is estimated that over 300 people in Cumberland Country are experiencing homelessness.
Photo courtesy of Ed Yourdon.
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