In Depth with Dan: Examining Raleigh's growing homelessness problem

The Raleigh City Council has launched a $5 million pilot program to move people out of camps and into permanent housing.

Posted 10:34 p.m. May 9 — Updated 11:28 p.m. May 9

Dan Haggerty

, WRAL anchor/reporter

RALEIGH, N.C. — When a city grows, everything grows with it.

Recently, the Raleigh City Council launched a $5 million pilot program to find housing for people living outside in camps. The city is set to allocate $3 million to move people out of camps and help them with rent payments, and another $2 million to repair and expand affordable housing options.

The program is expected to help about 40 people get out of camps and into permanent housing. If the program is successful, the goal would be to expand this response to homelessness.

The Triangle has about 1,500 homeless people. Raleigh leaders said homelessness is up 200% in three years.

Raleigh launches $5 million program to house homeless

Raleigh’s population has exploded. U.S. Census Bureau Data shows Raleigh’s population as of July 1, 2022, is about 476,587 people. On April 1, 2010, Raleigh had 403,892 people.

It comes after Redfin conducted a study in April 2024 that found 40% of homeowners couldn’t afford their home if they were to buy it today.

An April 2022 study found an average wage earner cannot currently afford to purchase a Wake County home at the median price.

ECONorthwest senior policy advisory John Tapogna who lawmakers have consulted on growth and housing spoke with WRAL News on what he would tell city leaders to look for when it comes to housing and cost of living.

“The number that I would pay attention to, in terms of the one to really worry about is to pay close attention to the share of renters who are spending more than 50% of their income on rent,” Tapogna said.

Last year, Zillow released a study that showed it takes four minimum-wage people to afford an apartment in Raleigh. The study found a person working minimum wage would have to work 144 hours per week to afford a typical one-bedroom apartment.

Homelessness is a complex issue. Each situation is unique.

However, in June 2017, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study found more than 400,000 people in North Carolina spent nearly 50% of their income on rent.

Many times, the math is simple. The more people you have living on the cusp – the more people will fall off the cliff into homelessness and it doesn’t take much of a nudge. A job loss, medical emergency, car trouble and divorce are examples of what can happen.

So, what's the answer?

The Raleigh City Council says affordable housing, but that's a whole other conversation for another day.

In Depth With Dan

Dan Haggerty is a reporter and anchor for WRAL. He’s won four regional Emmy awards for his anchoring and reporting. He's reported in Fort Myers, Florida; Cleveland; San Diego; Dallas; Portland, Oregon and Raleigh, North Carolina. He is proud to call the Triangle home.

Anyone who has an idea for In Depth with Dan can email him at dan@wral.com.

Suggest A Correction