MECKLENBURG COUNTY
Community Support Services
December 14, 2015
Attached is a copy of the report, “Charlotte-Mecklenburg Cumulative Count Report” for 2015. This
report is the fifth and final in an annual series designed to better equip our community to make datadriven decisions around housing instability and homelessness. The 2015 series includes the Point-In-Time
Count Report, the Characteristics of Charlotte Housing Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher Waiting List
Report, Housing Instability in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Report and Service Utilization of Veterans
Experiencing Homelessness Report.
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte Urban Institute prepared the report. The Housing Advisory
Board of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, a volunteer board appointed by the Mecklenburg Board of County
Commissioners and the Charlotte City Council, initiated the report. Mecklenburg County Community
Support Services provided funding for the report.
There are two main sources of information the United States Congress uses to make policy and funding
decisions around homelessness: the Point-In-Time count of persons experiencing homelessness on a
single night in January, and a cumulative count of persons experiencing sheltered homelessness
throughout the year. The two make up the Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress. The
“Charlotte-Mecklenburg Cumulative Count Report” and the Point-in-Time Count Report released in May
2015 provide Charlotte-Mecklenburg with local information similar to the national information provided
through the Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress.
The goal of this report is to provide data on the number and characteristics of individuals and
households experiencing homelessness in Charlotte-Mecklenburg over the course of a year. The report
analyzes data from 2005 to 2014.
Some findings include:

From 2005 to 2014, sheltered homelessness increased by 41 percent (1,887 people) and from
2013 to 2014, it increased by 10 percent (602 people).

From 2013 to 2014, sheltered homeless households with children increased by 14 percent (232)
people.

From 2013 to 2014, sheltered veterans decreased by approximately 3.5 percent (17 people).
Through review of the change in homelessness over time and the characteristics of the populations
experiencing homelessness, Charlotte-Mecklenburg can use data to inform policy and program decisions,
and better advocate for federal, state and local resources to end and prevent homelessness.
Stacy M. Lowry, MSW, LCSW
Director, Mecklenburg County Community Support Services
PEOPLE •PRIDE • PROGRESS • PARTNERSHIPS
700 North Tryon Street  Charlotte, North Carolina 28202  (704) 432-SAFE (7233)
www.MecklenburgCountyNC.gov 