[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.91″ custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” next_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Top Image” _builder_version=”3.10″ src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/400-PKG-HOMELESS-IN-COLA.mov.00_00_20_26.Still001.jpg” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row custom_padding=”2px|0px|8px|0px” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Top Image caption” _builder_version=”3.10″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px”]<\/p>\n
Homeless man camps out at Finlay Park in Columbia<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.92″ custom_padding=”2px|0px|37.9062px|0px” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding=”0px|0px|18.9531px|0px” custom_margin=”10px|||” _builder_version=”3.0.92″][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 1″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.10″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/400-PKG-HOMELESS-IN-COLA.mov.00_01_15_06.Still002.jpg” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 1″ _builder_version=”3.10″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||”]<\/p>\n
Craig Curry, CEO of Transitions, explains homelessness in Columbia<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 2″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.10″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/400-PKG-HOMELESS-IN-COLA.mov.00_00_29_20.Still003.jpg” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 2″ _builder_version=”3.10″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||”]<\/p>\n
Columbia man feeds homeless people in Finlay Park<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”News Story” _builder_version=”3.10″ custom_margin=”0px||0px|”]<\/p>\n
Craig Curry, CEO of Transitions, Columbia’s homeless center, is pleased with the decline in homelessness the city of Columbia has seen in recent years.<\/p>\n
Curry says there has been a 30 to 40 percent decrease in the area\u2019s homeless population since the center opened in 2011, and he\u2019s hopeful that ongoing support for the homeless will continue to drive those numbers down.<\/p>\n
\u201cHomelessness has gone down in the last several years. It\u2019s credited to a lot of things,\u201d Curry said. \u201cI like to think that we are part of that success. In fact, I know we are. We have put 2,000 plus people in permanent housing. That adds to a significant decrease in the homeless population.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since it\u2019s opening, Transitions has placed 2,018 homeless people in permanent housing. With 260 beds that are full almost every night of the year, it is the largest homeless shelter in the Midlands. Transitions provides housing, counseling, meals and several other services to help the homeless stabilize their lives, increase their income and secure permanent housing.<\/p>\n
While the homeless population in Columbia has declined, many homeless still seek refuge in Finlay Park on Laurel St. The park has become a place where many homeless people in Columbia stay during the daytime to hide from the unforgiving summer heat.<\/p>\n
One Columbia man, Marcus Williams,\u00a0said at one point he \u201clost everything and became homeless in Charlotte.\u201d He is now in nursing school and likes to come to the park to feed the homeless people who reside there. He feels that giving back is important.<\/p>\n
Curry explained that many of the homeless at Transitions claim to be veterans because they believe they will receive better treatment, but only 9 percent of those who reside at Transitions are confirmed by the Veteran Affairs to be former service members.<\/p>\n
According to Curry, there are several variables attributed to someone struggling with homelessness.<\/p>\n
He says, \u201c34 percent have mental health issues, and 35 percent have substance abuse problems. When they walk in the door, they are admitting to a serious problem upon arrival.\u201d He believes the actual number of individuals at Transitions who struggle with substance abuse and mental health problems is much higher.<\/p>\n
The data that determines the number of homeless people in Columbia for 2018 is not yet available; however, Curry and other officials familiar with the homeless population in Columbia believe the city will continue to see a decrease in homelessness.<\/p>\n
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The CEO of Transitions, the city\u2019s homeless center, says there has been a 30 to 40 percent decrease in the area\u2019s homeless population since the center opened in 2011. And he\u2019s hopeful that ongoing support of the homeless will continue to drive those numbers down.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":11330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11329"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11329"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11336,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11329\/revisions\/11336"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}