We are honored to be able to recognize them for all the good things that they do to benefit so many people. The awards were given by the North Carolina Interagency Council for Coordinating Homeless Programs, which hosted about 400 people at the council's annual conference, held at the Jane S. McKimmon Center Tuesday and today.
Homelessness touches people in every county in North Carolina.
It is a community problem magnified this year by the devastation that flooding from Hurricane Floyd brought to thousands of homes and families in eastern parts of the state in September. In 54 counties where 121 agencies received emergency shelter grants through the N.C. Office of Economic Opportunity, more than 43,000 people, including 6,289 families, were served in the year ending last June 30. Causes of homelessness include domestic violence, sexual abuse, unemployment, drug abuse, alcoholism, eviction, mental illness, natural disasters, underemployment and runaway children. After years of fighting alcoholism and being homeless, Hodges sought help from Religious Community Services of New Bern. While a resident of the RCS shelter, Hodges attacked his alcoholism head-on through shelter support sessions and weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.