GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — As the Triad braces for another frigid night, the city of High Point honored people who died while experiencing homelessness.
It held a memorial Tuesday for those who died in the past year.
Melissa Houle lost her husband just as they were getting off the streets.
“Two weeks ago I moved into the apartment we were supposed to move into," Houle said.
Houle said she and her husband were homeless for two years.
Partners Ending Homelessness in Greensboro got them housing in August, shortly before Houle's husband died from cancer.
"Every person whether they are housed or unhoused they have value and they have a purpose," Jessica Camire with the Guilford County Continuum of Care said. "We want to honor their memory today.”
Forty-six other people who died while experiencing homelessness were honored during the memorial service.
“Let this evening serve as a call to action for our community. Beyond the remembrance of those we have lost let, us channel our grief into finding lasting solutions to end homelessness," One speaker said.
Guilford County leaders are taking action by dedicating funds to address homelessness.
Guilford County Commission Chair Skip Alston said they allocated $100,000 to create an emergency shelter and challenged Greensboro and High Point to do the same.
"Emergency housing like hotels, hotel rooms for the homeless," Alston said. "We’re coordinating and cooperating with the local hotels to see if they will have rooms available."
Alston said county commissioners have also given $306,000 to help the Interactive Resource Center, a center that helps the homeless extend its services to operate 24 hours a day.
"We know it's not the final answer but we know it's needed right now," said Kristina Singleton the director of the IRC. "There's a national housing crisis. There’s more people struggling right now than in years past."
Singleton said the extended hours directly respond to the lack of services available in the area.
To further address this, the IRC added a doorway project. It allows the unhoused to live in pallet homes temporarily.
“We are at full capacity. We have 56 people that are staying at that project," Singleton said. "We’ve already transitioned two people into housing.”
Giving hope to those with heavy hearts facing the challenges of homelessness.
Since starting the white flag emergency shelter a decade ago the IRC says Guilford County has had zero deaths due to cold weather.
The city of Greensboro will hold a service honoring those who died from homelessness on National Homeless Persons Memorial Day Thursday.