Homeless population growing in York County. Local organizations aim to help.

As York County grows, so does the number of people without homes.

An estimated 328 people in the York County area were homeless in 2018, a 13 percent increase from 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In 2017, a GoFundMe was set up for an anonymous 84-year-old war veteran living in the Rock Hill area who was evicted from his home due to suspected elderly abuse.

However, using fundraising sources like GoFundMe are not the best way to help the growing homeless population in York County, said Bruce McKagan, executive director of Renew Our Community.

“What we find is that if I give somebody, who is broken and struggling, money, are they taking that money and using it for the best things for their health?,” McKagan said.

“In most cases to give someone money it really doesn’t answer their real issues, to put them in connection (with agencies) that are experienced is the right answer,” he said.

The Rock Hill community has agencies in the area to help the homeless. These resources include victim’s assistance, housing and transportation.

There are more than 40 agencies in the York county region ensuring the well-being of those in need. Renew Our Community, or ROC, is one of them.

The organization, which was formed five years ago, aims to help homeless people work toward living on their own, McKagan said.

“We are a day shelter and what that means is any day anybody who is struggling or broken, they can come to the ROC and get assistance,” he said.

Some of the assistance ROC gives includes money managing, transportation, obtaining IDs, food and a place to stay. Renew Our Community also partners with other agencies around the area to ensure people in need are getting proper help.

“It’s not just the ROC but all the agencies and how connected we need to be in order to really move the needle on homelessness in our community,” McKagan said.

ROC is one of the area’s crisis assistance organizations housed at the new Pathways Community Center in Rock Hill. Pathways, a Christian-based, nonprofit organization aims to create one location for multiple agencies.

Safe Passage in Rock Hill provides assistance to anyone in abusive situations and helps people who become homeless because of abuse.

“Safe passage provides housing in our temporary shelter for women, men and children who have been victimized by domestic violence and may be homeless due to domestic violence,” said Joan Harris, associated director of advocacy and community education.

In most circumstances, the Safe Passage shelter is used to provide abuse victims with counseling, education, support groups and parenting classes. The agency also provides temporary housing for up to sixty days for abuse victims in crisis situations.

The Bethel United Methodist Church in Rock Hill offers shelter to men in need.

“There’s a lot of different categories of shelter and housing for our folks. But we need a lot more,” McKagan said. “The only way we can really do that is by coming together and talking about it. We have to use our unique talents and resources to figure out what the best answer is.”