Greensboro's Doorway Project fills important need for the unhoused as temperatures get colder

Greensboro's Doorway Project provides pallet shelters for the city's unhoused population and remains important in its second year as other services have become unavailable.

In October, the Greensboro City Council approved more than $190,000 in funds to continue its Doorway Project. The initiative is run by the Interactive Resource Center, a grassroots nonprofit organization.

Executive Director Kristina Singleton says all 56 beds are currently filled and there's now a waiting list.

"We knew that the need was there. There's a lack of other resources this winter in particular that we have had in previous winters," Singleton says. "So we knew that it would immediately be filled."

She says last year her organization was able to use a motel for the elderly and medically vulnerable experiencing homelessness. But it's unavailable now as it undergoes renovations.

She says she hopes the Doorway Project ultimately serves to transition people into permanent housing. According to Singleton, 80% of participants did not return to homelessness when the program ended in its first year.

The Doorway Project is expected to wrap up in April.