The homeless demographic in Tarrant County is shifting.
"The issue is we are seeing a huge increase in family homelessness," said Lauren King, executive director of the Tarrant County Homeless Coalition.
King said they work with 40 area partners battling homelessness, but the numbers continue to rise at a critical pace.
"Typically, it goes down by about the third week of September, and we have not seen that happen,” King said. “So that is very concerning. Our shelters are at capacity or Salvation Army is over capacity."
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Many factors are causing this including eviction moratoriums and rental assistance going away. Rising rent and inflation also play a part.
Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said the city is looking at immediate solutions.
"Actively looking for potential properties across Fort Worth that we can convert into shelter housing for families,” Parker said. “Then ultimately if we don't need the shelter beds at some point then turn that into permanent housing for families."
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Fort Worth is also investing money into long-term plans.
"Continuing to leverage our permits per housing dollars towards these projects,” Parker said. “Over $20 million. We've also been coordinating with our private sector partners to think about development of new housing in the city of Fort Worth."
Fort Worth has already reallocated federal funds to focus on rehousing families.
Tarrant County used more than $32 million of federal money to develop housing for people experiencing homelessness.
To learn more about how you can help through the Tarrant County Homeless Coalition click here.
