As 911 calls to the IRC decrease, homeless day shelter leaders say they need community support

Featured photo: On Tuesday, Sept. 24, staff of the IRC, led by Executive Director Kristina Singleton, held a press conference to ask the community for support and give out updated data and information. (photo by Sayaka Matsuoka)

At a press conference on Tuesday morning, leadership for Greensboro’s day center for the unhoused — the Interactive Resource Center — answered questions about safety at the center, the organization’s winter programs, upcoming changes, as well as the organization’s relationship with city leaders and surrounding businesses.

The press conference comes at a time when the center, which opened in 2008, is seeing a huge increase in the number of clients they serve. According to IRC staff, they have seen a more than 100 percent increase in homeless individuals this past summer compared to last year. And the increased demand has caused increased scrutiny from the community — including news outlets — as well as city leadership.

In July, city council temporarily paused funding for the nonprofit, citing the organization’s need to “identify a solution” to a spike in 911 calls that the center had seen in the months leading up to the summer.

Now, two months later, organization leadership says that the 911 calls have gone down and the center needs more support, not criticism.

“As you’re all aware, the past several months, there’s been a lot of news and, unquote, news and a lot of comments about the IRC and how we’re trying to deal with the surge in homelessness in Greensboro,” said Jim King, the IRC’s board chair.

King pointed to how the organization is launching their Dignity Season this week, which marks the annual fundraising effort undertaken by the IRC each year. Rather than have just one off event, the IRC will have a series of events starting on Sept. 26 until Oct. 10. One of the events will be a community forum that is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, Oct. 1 at Scuppernong Books.

“This is our turn to get the narrative out about homelessness in Greensboro and how the IRC fits into that picture and what is happening, what we’re doing to address the neighbors and the community concerns,” King said.

A system ‘bursting at the seams’

As Triad City Beat has reported, the IRC has seen a historic increase in the number of people visiting the center. During the 2023-24 fiscal year, the organization served 8,520 unhoused people. During the prior fiscal year, they served 5,677. The drop-in center provides showers, laundry, mail service and restroom facilities.

Those numbers reflect a change in the center’s hours of operation, which went from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. on weekdays to a shelter that is open almost 24/7. The center still closes for a few hours every day for “deep cleaning” and on every third Friday of the month for about 12 hours, according to clients TCB spoke to.

“As the numbers have risen beyond anyone’s expectations, the problem is suddenly in the spotlight; out of sight, out of mind is no longer an option,” said Kristina Singleton, the IRC’s executive director during the press conference. “Our shelter system is bursting at the seams. Caseloads are so large across the homeless services sector that they are unmanageable.”

The issue of more people facing homelessness is not unique to Greensboro. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, a record-high number of people — more than 650,000 — experienced homelessness nationally in January 2023. That represents a more than 12-percent increase compared to 2022. And a number of factors contribute to the issue: expensive housing costs, low incomes, as well as a July Supreme Court decision that allows municipalities to fine, ticket or arrest people experiencing homelessness.

“For 15 years, we’ve shown up when on one else did,” Singleton said. “We serve people with the highest needs and the biggest issues. We’ve opened our doors to individuals turned away from every other resource.”

According to data provided by the IRC, 80 percent of the people the organization serves are currently experiencing homelessness, while the other 20 percent are at imminent threat of becoming homeless. About 70 percent of the clients are Black, and 64 percent are adult males.

As the only low-barrier center for the unhoused, the IRC caters to individuals who may not be able to receive services at some of the other homeless organizations including the Greensboro Urban Ministry. According to TCB’s reporting from earlier this month, the Greensboro Urban Ministry is operating at partial capacity despite the high community need for shelter among the unhoused.

This fall, the IRC will once again open their Doorway Program, the pop-up Pallet shelters that will house individuals from November to March of next year. In addition to the shelters used in past seasons, the IRC will also be utilizing two RVs that will provide an additional 26 dorm-style beds for a total of 82 people served through the winter.

But the spike in clients served hasn’t come without its own challenges at the IRC.

A decrease in 911 calls, plus the center hires 24/7 security

In the spring and early summer, city leaders pointed out that there was a spike in the number of 911 calls that had been made to the IRC, something that TCB and other media outlets reported. According to 911-call data, there were 642 police calls to IRC between Jan. 17 and May 22 of this year. Earlier this month, TCB also published a report earlier this month that highlighted a spike in crime at the center which made some clientele feel the IRC was no longer a safe place to be.

But that’s changing, IRC staff says.

According to the center’s staff, the number of 911 calls to the IRC has gone down in the last few months. A public records request for 911-call data for Greensboro police submitted by TCB shows that this is true.

When broken down into three-month periods, it’s shown that the number of calls to the police have gone down in the last three months.

From January to the end of March, there were 329 calls to the police for the IRC. From April to the end of June, calls spiked to 557 — a more than 69 percent increase. But from July until Sept. 25, calls have dropped back down to 395, marking a 29 percent decrease.

To alleviate the issues, Singleton noted that the organization has hired non-armed security personnel through a company called Phoenix Special Police, to operate on the premises 24/7. The center has also installed extra outdoor lights and has plans to implement an ID system soon.

According to Singleton, the ID system will allow visitors to receive a free ID card at the center so staff can track the number of clients and see which services are being used the most. The system is scheduled to roll out by Nov. 1. Singleton stated that those without ID cards will still be able to access the facility and its resources.

“We didn’t really consider us having a huge issue with safety before,” Singleton said. “Safety is always a priority at the IRC, but we…think that just the visibility of someone here might be helping remember to keep people in check.”

In the past, incidents reported at the IRC have included physical assaults, larceny, rape and trespassing, according to 911-call data.

These days, Deonna Sayed, the director of development for the IRC, told TCB that many of the calls to the police involve repeat calls that IRC staff have to make due to banned guests. Sayed said that when a person exhibits violent behavior that threatens the safety of other guests or staff, that they can be banned either temporarily or indefinitely.

“A lot of those calls are just things like that,” she said. “We’re low barrier, but we’re not no barrier.”

Relationship with city leaders, surrounding businesses 

In addition to questions about safety at the center, Singleton also responded to inquiries about the ongoing relationship between the organization and city council members, as well as neighboring businesses.

As TCB has reported, city council members — including Zach Matheny, who is also the head of Downtown Greensboro Inc., also known as DGI — have been critical of the IRC in recent months.

When asked how their relationship with city leaders is now, Singleton gave a short answer.

“My goal is always to focus on the people that we serve,” she said. “And with city council, I’m always open to good conversation and conversations that will lead us to finding new answers and I’ll leave it at that.”

When asked when the last time a councilmember had visited the center, IRC staff said that District 2 representative Goldie Wells had visited on Sunday. About Matheny, Singleton said that they “communicate back and forth when we need to” and that they “have the same goal.”

Last fall, the city — in conjunction with Greensboro Downtown Parks Inc. and other organizations — implemented new rules in the city’s downtown parks that activists and unhoused people say directly targeted the homeless community. Among the rules included where people could put their belongings as well as the banning of food distribution.

Those rules pushed more unhoused people out of the parks and to the IRC, Singleton said.

With regards to the center’s relationship with neighboring businesses, Singleton also gave a brief response.

“We have a lot of neighbors in the downtown business district that support us,” Singleton said. “We’ve had some very vocal neighbors that have shown concerns, but we’re working hard on trying to be a good neighbor and do the things that any neighbor would be expected to do, and we hope they do the same.”

Among those that have voiced their concerns include Phillip Marsh, Kim Grimsley-Ritchy and her husband Alex Ritchy, who all operate property near the center.

Singleton said that she is not personally having conversations with any business leaders on a regular basis, but that King, the board chair, has been reaching out. King also noted that he sends updates every Tuesday to city council members in addition to the 30-day updates the organization has committed to making to council.

“She received one thank you from a council member by email, and that was the first response that I’ve been aware of in the last couple of months,” King said.

What do clients think about the IRC?

Late Tuesday morning, dozens of people hung out inside the center, charging their phones, using laptops, or taking naps. Outside, a few dozen more milled about.

Natalie, a woman who currently has housing, waited for her appointment with a case worker at 11 a.m. Another woman, Kasen, sat next to her and told TCB that she was newly homeless because of landlord discrimination. Kasen, a trans woman, said that she was recently staying at a motel and then a rooming house but was kicked out at the beginning of the month. Now, she stays at LeBauer Park at night but doesn’t get much sleep because of safety concerns. During the day, she comes to the IRC to use its resources including the doctor, who she has been seeing for the past three years, and meetings with a case manager.

“I’m very supportive of the IRC,” Kasen said. “The services inside are great.”

Standing nearby, Olin, said that this was his first time using the center. As someone who is also newly unhoused, he said he found out about the IRC after he tried to get a bed at the Greensboro Urban Ministry where he was told that he would have to wait two to three weeks for a bed. He said he came to the center to wash his clothes and take a shower.

“I came in here the same day and a young lady was working here,” Olin said. “I had to go to work and I dropped off my stuff. When I came home from work, my stuff was folded and washed. I appreciated that.”

Thomas, who has been coming to the IRC for the last six months since becoming homeless, said that he thinks the center is getting better, especially when it comes to safety.

“They’re trying,” he said. 

Still, he said that the inside could be improved with a larger computer lab so clients can apply for food stamps or get Medicaid. He also pointed out the need for more space for people to sleep. Right now, most of the people sleep on the floor, side by side, he said.

And that’s why city council should be supporting the center, Thomas said.

“I think city council should do more,” he said. 

He pointed to how unhoused people were pushed out of the downtown parks, which are right next to the Center Pointe high-rise apartments.

“The rich white folks don’t want that shit going on,” Thomas said.

But when there’s less place for people struggling with homelessness to go, to find resources, what becomes of them? Olin answered plainly.

“If they weren’t here, if they didn’t have the resource center here, where would the people go?,” he asked. “You’re still going to have the same situation; you’re still going to have a homeless population.”