VIDEO: Growing Homelessness In Columbus With Little Help

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- It’s a serious problem many don’t know exists.

There are currently over 1-thousand homeless individuals in Columbus alone. With no shelter in site.

“We have a really really big problem with homelessness here in Columbus,” says Community Outreach Director Glenda Buckhalter.

Just driving through the area, you may not see them, but they’re there.

“A few months ago, we had a couple on 18th avenue sleeping under the bridge every night,” says Buckhalter.

Bridges, tents, public restrooms… The homeless seek for any type of shelter they can get.

That’s because Columbus does not have a homeless shelter.

Buckhalter has been working for almost three years to build a shlter here in town.

“To have a homeless shelter entails a lot. It is a lot of money and there have been different organizations, that I’ve personally been involved in that would like to do homeless shelters, but when they find out the in-depth-ness of the shelter there’s just not enough money right now where we can do that,” says Buckhalter.

Not to mention it costs close to $800,000.

“That’s a lot of money and one agency or one organization cant do it. It’s gonna take the community at large, businesses, churches, you know organizations all coming together,” says Buckhalter.

Buckhalter is allotted $4,200 a year to assist the homeless.

With 20 to 30 people coming to see her a day, that’s far too little from what she needs.

“To put a person in one night in a hotel is 35 dollars and up, but when they come here they have more needs than just a couple of nights at the hotel,” says Buckhalter.

In addition, they need hot meals and clothes.

“I know this is the season of giving and I don’t like to put a limit on whatever people want to donate, we get a lot of clothes donated, we get a lot of food donated, we get hygiene bags, but right now, our number one need is money,” says Buckhalter.

The city is hosting a Christmas Gala at the Trotter Convention center on December 17th.

It’s free to all city employees and 10-dollars for the public.

All proceeds will support Building Bridges of Hope, helping the homeless and under-served in our community.