| Dogwood ION Grant Application |
| Organization and Contacts | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Organization Information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Town of Waynesville | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Address | 16 South Main Street | Post Office Box 100 | |
| Website | www.waynesvillenc.gov | | | Mission/Purpose Statement | The Town of Waynesville is an incorporated municipality with a population of 10,000 residents and provides a range of municipal services to diverse income groups. It is the county seat of Haywood County and the largest of the four municipalities in the county. The Town limits include residents from both mountain valleys and along ridges up to 4,800 feet. The Town is comprised of both wealthy, retired residents and working-class individuals with a per capita income of $25,072. Waynesville’s goal is to provide a high level of service at an affordable level of taxation and fees. | The Town of Waynesville is committed to providing and supporting low-income housing. The Town appoints the board of the Waynesville Housing Authority who offers rental units for town residents who meet eligibility requirements determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Authority operates the Waynesville Towers, a five-story apartment complex with 61 units. The Towers’ units were built in 1981 and were the Authority’s last building project. The Authority has housing units at 17 Babb St., 395 Boyd Ave., 48 Chestnut Park and 9 Chatham St. in Waynesville. Haywood County, the Town and developer Landmark Realty entered into a public – private partnership to repurpose the old Haywood County Hospital, located in Waynesville, with federal low-income housing tax credits to provide fifty rental units for veterans, persons with disabilities and low incomes earlier in 2019. The Town works closely with the local non-profit Habitat for Humanity organization and supports Mountain Projects, a Haywood County Community Action Agency, providing affordable housing and other social services to lower income residents. The Town supports the Open Door Ministries, a faith-based organization providing on-site meals and emergency assistance to persons in need, which includes persons without stable housing. | | Which one best applies to you? | Government Entity | | | What is your organization’s total annual budget? | 31418170 | | | Are you applying as a fiscal sponsor on behalf of an organization? | Yes | | | If so, for who? | Town of Waynesville | | Organization Primary Contact | |
| Title | Town Manager | | |
| E-mail | rhites@waynesvillenc.gov | | | Mailing Address | Post Office Box 100 | | |
Primary Contact for this Request | | Same as Organization Primary Contact | Yes | | |
| Title | Town Manager | | |
| E-mail | rhites@waynesvillenc.gov | | | Mailing Address | Post Office Box 100 | | |
Request Information
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SECTION ONE: Tell us about you and the need or opportunity you face. | | Project Title | Waynesville Taskforce on Homelessness | | | Description of Current Need/Project | | Tell us information about how the money will be used | | There are increasing numbers of persons without housing in the Town of Waynesville. Police Officers have encountered approximately ten encampments of homeless persons, as well as others sleeping under bridges, in cars, and abandoned buildings. The numbers are impacting Haywood Pathways Center, a Waynesville faith-based non-profit, providing short-term shelter for up to sixty adults in crisis or chronically homeless. The shelter is often full and does not accept all individuals. During daytime hours persons must leave the facility. Some walk to the Open Door Ministry, located across town. Others experiencing homelessness walk to the Open Door as well. These persons are stigmatized because of their status as homeless. Business owners and residents complain to Town officials that these persons are dangerous, commit crimes and cause public nuisances. During a recent Town government election, all candidates agreed that preventing and ending homelessness were top issues and supported a taskforce to address homelessness. | This grant will fund a person who is knowledgeable about housing and homelessness issues, with a skill-set of data collection, group facilitation, collaboration, and strategic planning to coordinate the Task Force. He/She will be essential to insuring Task Force objectives are reached. Task Force objectives include: (1) With input from Town Mayor and Board of Aldermen, the coordinator will organize the Task Force on Homelessness and schedule meetings; (2) Coordinate research on the demographics of persons who are homeless in Waynesville and causes; inventory current housing stock and existing services available to prevent or respond to temporary and chronic homelessness; (3) Examine stigmatization, criminalization and discrimination associated with homelessness; (4) Conduct a gap analysis to identify needs, existing community capacity and additional resources necessary to prevent and respond to temporary and chronic homelessness, and (5) Develop a collaborative community action plan to fill system gaps and improve existing programs. | |
SECTION TWO: Your answers to these questions will help inform Dogwood Health Trust’s knowledge about diversity and equity in the region. | | Does your organization serve diverse communities in Western North Carolina? | | Examples of diversity include race, ethnicity, level of education, gender identity, age, immigration status, sexual orientation, the job they have, the neighborhood they live in, veteran status, socioeconomic status, or whether or not they have a disability | | Yes | | | If so, which ones? | The Town of Waynesville serves everyone, regardless of race, color, creed, religious affiliation, sexual orientation or political beliefs. Residents are eligible for services if they reside within the geographic town limits. Our policies and procedures related to service provision do not differentiate between groups but rather concentrate on the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery and working toward exemplary customer service to all. Waynesville is unlike many southern municipalities in that it has a racial breakdown of 92% White, 4.4% Latino and 2.7% Black. The Town’s poverty rate is 22.2 percent. The most telling diversity is that of income and socio-economic status. Waynesville is made up of several groups: wealthy retirees who reside along the mountain ridges, small business owners, retirees from local industries now closed, working families, and young persons in school or working in the service industries. | The Town budget reflects our commitment to serve diverse groups. The Town provides one of the largest recreation programs in western NC. It prices its recreational amenities so that citizens at all income levels may participate. The Town runs a summer camp program that provides affordable summer recreation programs to help families who otherwise may lack summer day care. It provides financial support to numerous nonprofits that provide a range of services to Haywood County residents. Waynesville allocates funding for REACH, a domestic violence-sexual assault organization; the Open Door; the Pigeon Multicultural Community Center, which serves many of Waynesville’s Black and Latino residents and Mountain Projects which provides affordable housing and other social services to low income residents of our community. | | Which communities is your organization serving or will be served by this grant? (Check all that apply) | Haywood County | | | How does your organization embrace diversity? How is diversity reflected in your organization’s board and staff? | Waynesville is unique among North Carolina Towns. It has a history of accepting newcomers with different political views and personal lifestyles. Its residents vary from wealthy retirees from Florida to “Sovereign Citizens” who don’t recognize the legitimacy of the US government. The Town Board reflects the diverse nature of our community. The five-member board is comprised of both Republicans and Democrats, an openly gay member and a female Mayor Pro Tempore. The Town Manager is male, while the Assistant Town Manager is female. The Town Board is sensitive to the needs of all racial groups and income classes within the Town. | | | Tell us what equity means to your organization and how it informs the work of your organization? | It is the policy of the Town of Waynesville to treat everyone with dignity and compassion regardless of income, race, gender, political affiliation, sexual orientation or social status. As they move through the workday, Town employees are alerted to social conditions in the community and frequently contact non-profit groups and social services when they encounter families in financial or other distress. As set out above, the Town budget reflects the values of equity: all persons should be free from intimate partner violence; persons should be able to access food and access affordable daycare and recreation. The Town supported the founding of the Waynesville Housing Authority so that persons could obtain housing, regardless of their income. | | | Will this grant help you to address any inequities or disparities? | Yes | | | If so, which ones? | Health and Housing | With the support and facilitation of the Task Force Coordinator, the Task Force on Homelessness will develop a community action plan to address health inequities correlated with homelessness. The American Public Health Association states, “Ending homelessness is a public health issue, as those experiencing homelessness have high rates of chronic mental and physical health conditions, co-occurring disorders and barriers to care.” Persons experiencing homelessness are less likely to see a doctor and more likely to access emergency services when necessary. Persons experiencing homelessness are less likely to comply with prescribed medications. Research indicates that children are more likely to succeed in school and have better job prospects in the future when they don’t suffer the stress of wondering where they will sleep. The correlation between disabilities and homelessness is high, with almost 20% of individuals experiencing homelessness in 2016 reporting severe mental illness, and 17% reporting chronic substance use problems, according to national reports. With the support and facilitation of the Task Force Coordinator, the Task Force on Homelessness will develop a community action plan to address housing inequities related to homelessness. The Task Force Coordinator will support and facilitate the Task Force’s examination of community experiences in securing and maintaining safe, affordable housing. The Task Force will investigate services necessary to accessing housing and helping people maintain their housing once housed. The Coordinator will help provide data concerning assistance, services received and gaps in services needed by persons experiencing homelessness through research and data collection. While less than 15% of the homeless population is “chronically homeless,” the Task Force will examine their needs and the community resources available to them. | SECTION THREE: Please verify the following before you submit your application. | | By checking the box below, I certify that:
| Yes | | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
