By Terry Benjamin II, originally posted in the Independent Mail, March 13, 2025

As the population of the city of Greenville grows, so does homelessness. A new initiative is looking at innovative ways to change the trend.

Greenville Together: A Home for All, a joint initiative of the United Way of Greenville, United Housing, and more than 40 other organizations, kicked off Wednesday night at The Lazy Goat.  

The project will be different than previous efforts aimed at combating homelessness, said Cody Carver, Home for All director, by providing “immediate housing” to people in need. The group will then try to assist the person with other services that could include mental health and employment counseling.

“Our main priority is to rehouse them into permanent, safe, stable housing, and then work on the other support service that they need,” Carver said. “This contradicts some other models, which is getting the individual working on their addiction and working on their trauma before they get placed into housing.” 

He said the traditional method is a thoughtful idea but isn’t the best in practice, and housing someone first helps treat their mental health.

“If I were out on the streets, it would be survival mode for me. The last thing that I’m thinking about is going to meet with my therapist to work on my drug or alcohol addiction. The first thing on my mind would be absolutely survival,” Carver said. 

The initiative’s goal is to rehouse 50 people and help more than 30 others reconnect with family, friends, or local organizations to exit homelessness by December. 

Carver said the program will cost more than $3.8 million, with funding coming from fundraising efforts and private donors. Most funds will go toward rehousing and providing rental and utility assistance, including upfront costs such as security deposits, applications, and move-in fees. He added that the program will have a “rapid exit strategy.”  

“Individuals that are experiencing homelessness typically can pay for the rent. There are usually just one to two barriers that they’re experiencing that are preventing them from being housed,” Carver said.

Experienced panel will be advisors

The program will have an advisory panel comprised of eight people who were formerly homeless and will advise the board on how to help those on the street.

Sherry Inman of Greenville spent years in and out of homelessness and saw close friends die while being without a home. She wants to be a voice for them.

“It’s very hard when you have close that have passed away in a cold because they didn’t have anywhere to go,” Inman said. “For the people no longer here, I can be that voice. Whoever needs it, I’ll be crazy if it means they get help. I’m here to help you as much as possible. I will be their voice. I will stand up for them.”

Inman said she and the seven other members will hold the initiative accountable.

“We’re going to make it happen, and I’m here to make sure that these people are going to stay on track. These people need our help,” Inman said.

An opportunity to ‘do this right’

In 2023, Greenville had a population of 72,000, about 14,000 more than in 2010, when the population was about 58,000.

The South Carolina Upstate Continuum of Care, a housing organization, estimated that there were 700 people in Greenville last year without a place to live.

According to Greenville County Schools, the number of homeless children is growing. For the 2023-24 school year, 1,922 students were unhoused, compared to 1,634 in 2022-23 and 1,304 in the 2021-22 school year.  

Carver said the initiative is the chance to handle the homelessness issue.

“We have the opportunity to get our arms around this and do this right before this gets out of control and we’re unable to manage it, and there’s no coming back from that point,” Carver said.

Greenville Mayor Knox White said the city at this current size allows him and other city officials to directly address homelessness, while larger cities struggle to do so.

“We still can have one-on-one conversations and engagement with people that a lot of cities super can’t do that,” White said.

Both said this initiative allows Greenville to leave a legacy.

“This is a really crucial moment in our community’s history. Greenville makes all these top 10 best places to live lists,” Carver said. “How incredible would it be if we made the list of top 10 cities to end homelessness?”