COLUMBIA, S.C. — As temperatures continue drop and winter settles into the Capital City, those who help people experiencing homelessness are working double-time.
Krystle Gay with Supportive Housing is an outreach worker who goes into the homeless community to help those without shelter.
"Part of the problem, if not the biggest problem ... there are resources for just about all services, people just don’t know about them," Gay said.
“When we go to these camps, we do not just walk in. We say, 'Hey how are you?' We say, 'We’re here to bring you resources.'”
Gay says one of the biggest problems is getting help for people experiencing homelessness outside of Columbia city limits.
“Reaching the rural areas is just as important,” Gay said.
Supportive Housing provides food and clothing assistance, offers mental health resources and helps finds winter shelter for those in need.
Julie Ann Avin with the Mental Illness Recovery Center, Inc. (MIRCI) says outreach workers are critical.
“We’re seeing more folks needing additional help with behavioral healthcare," Avin said.
Avin says those who don’t seek shelter have their reasons why. “Typically had life events and have issues with trust, fear for their safety or fear being around others.”
Avin wants to see funding spent on additional homeless shelters. Instead of congregate housing, she says there should be a more private option. “If we can use infrastructure money and purchase an old hotel and turn each room into a single room shelter.”
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Doreen Skelton is doing what she can to help those without shelter, starting a fundraiser, called PTCares.
“No human being should be sleeping on the concrete or a bench like this," Skelton said. “Do what I gotta do to help these people get off the street.”
Skelton's idea is to build tiny houses at Finlay Park. “That’s my cause -- to build tiny houses for the homeless.”
If you are in need of help, you can reach out to Homeless No More, Oliver Gospel, there's the South Carolina Interagency Council on homelessness, which is a statewide network of advocates, service providers and funders committed to ending homelessness. For help finding winter housing, there's the Columbia winter shelter.