Last Thursday evening, June 2, residents of Jackson County gathered at Sylva First United Methodist Church to discuss the issue of homelessness and solutions that are best suited to the needs of the county.

The Town of Waynesville’s years-long attempt to address homelessness within its borders has been filled with raw emotion, whimsical theatrics and at times even elements of pure fiction, but the story’s far from over. 

Waynesville’s homeless task force, now rocked by resignations and dissention, failed to meet a deadline to present recommendations to the board of aldermen and now appears adrift and rudderless without a consensus or a clear direction forward. 

A meeting designed to gather public input on draft recommendations  made by the Waynesville Task Force on Homelessness scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 5, has been cancelled. 

More than 18 months after its creation and just over 12 months since its first meeting, Waynesville’s Task Force on Homelessness finally has some answers on the status of homelessness in Haywood County, and the steps they’d like to take to address it. 

The work groups tasked with assessing different aspects of the Waynesville homelessness situation gave their reports on possible practical solutions for both homeless individuals and the community at large, and there was one  consensus — the pressing need for a low-barrier shelter.

Although there was more than a little wrangling over logistics, the Town of Waynesville has finally announced the membership of its newly created homelessness task force. 

The town of Waynesville’s homelessness task force has gotten off to a slow start, but things should start to move much more quickly in the coming days. 

Calling it a campaign promise kept, newly-minted Waynesville Mayor Gary Caldwell announced during the first few moments of his term the creation of a homelessness task force.

Social services Agency Mountain Projects continues to be at the forefront of solving the affordable housing crisis in Haywood and Jackson counties.