Homeless shelters turn away families due to overcrowding

FORT WORTH, Texas (CNN) - Homeless shelters in Fort Worth are having to turn away families because there's just simply not enough room.

That's the stark warning from city officials as they are seeing a record number of families out on the streets.

During a Fort Worth city work session on Tuesday, city leaders and stakeholders discussed this growing problem in the city.

"We just see a record number of families who are in need in seeking assistance from us," said Lauren King, executive director of Tarrant County Homeless Coalition.

King said her group helped provide the data for the informal report. She said the number of families experiencing homelessness have doubled and said the driving factors are the expiration of the eviction moratorium, end of federal rental assistance and the continued increase in rent.

"Affordable housing is a real issue so even if families have assistance hands, because housing is so in demand in our community, landlords don't have to take it," added King.

The growing demand comes as organizations who help the homeless lack funding as the COVID relief funds have dried up.

"We've taken about a 70% hit of our overall funding and so our resources have gone down while the need has gone up," said John Ramsey, executive director of Tarrant County Hands of Hope.

His organization does street outreach for those without a home.

"The fear is that it's going to get worse before it gets better," added Ramsey.

The Salvation Army in Fort Worth said its J.E. & L.E. Mabee Social Service Center in Fort Worth has the capacity to shelter 60 people in their emergency family shelter. Last year, it served 1,198 total people. In 2022 so far, it has served 1,851. There has also been a significant uptick in the number of children served in the shelter, from 581 in 2021 to 1,061 in 2022 so far.

Recently, the Mabee Center served 291 individuals in one night — 385% over capacity. This number includes those served at a hotel, which is paid for by The Salvation Army. Prior to April 2022, The Mabee Center would only exceed capacity in a single night during extreme heat or cold weather.

This year, The Mabee Center saw a significant uptick in the number of children served in its shelters, from 581 in 2021 to 1,061 in 2022 so far.

They sent CBS 11 News this statement:

"We continue to see families in Fort Worth seeking assistance for the very first time and expect the increase in requests to continue. The Salvation Army has allocated resources to prevent a new wave of homelessness, helping people keep roofs over their heads," Deborah Bullock, Director of Adult & Family Programs-Tarrant & Ellis Counties, said. "We've seen hard-working families triumph over extreme adversity, but North Texans are facing greater, continuous hardship than ever before. The Salvation Army in Tarrant County — and across the region — will continue to reach our most vulnerable neighbors wherever the need exists and provide year-round support to all those facing poverty, addiction, and homelessness."

If you would like to get involved, the Tarrant County Homeless Coalition has these seven ways to help:

1. Donate to a fund to address family homelessness.

The Homeless Coalition already holds a number of community funds to assist people moving out of homelessness. 2. Coordinate a meal train for families in overflow.

Help with coordination to provide meals for families staying in overflow locations. 3. Support family shelters Christmas/holiday programs.

Help shelters and outreach teams by providing either Christmas presents or holiday meals for families. 4. Sponsor a family moving into housing (deposit, app fees, etc).

Work with the Homeless Coalition to make a specific call to action and could come up with a donation amount to support specific goals. 5. Donate gas cards for families to get to work.

Many families experiencing homelessness have a vehicle; they need help with gas to get to work, childcare, and other basic needs. 6. Sponsor a family getting back on their feet ($15,000).

This is a bigger ask, but a church or group could adopt a family and pay their rent for a year. 7. Support housing development.

Families are in this situation because they can no longer afford to live in our community. When partners propose new housing developments, support them and let your elected officials know that you support this investment. King said the short term solutions would be to increase capacity in existing shelters during the cold winter months, and the long-term strategy is to build housing for these families.