NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — In Newport News, one organization says there are more than 700 people without a home, and the problem is getting worse.
Richard Bliet of Newport News says a drug addiction caused him to lose his family and a place to call home.
"I was addicted to cocaine at one time and my family disowned me because of it," explains Bliet.
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He says it was a sobering experience in more ways than one.
"At the time I had no place to go and do the habit I had. Being out in the open I didn't want to be seen by anybody doing what i was doing. In a way it helped me get clean and made me reflect on life," said Bliet.
Bliet says he's worked hard to get his life back together and has had a job for 23 years. But despite having a job, he couldn't afford a place to live.
"I was sleeping in a car for three years," Bliet adds.
An organization on the Peninsula called LINK of Hampton Roads says that sometimes homelessness is out of the control of everyday people.
Lynne Finding works with the human service agency that helps provide housing for the homeless. She says she's noticed a change in the demographic and has seen more vulnerable people such as the disabled and elderly become homeless.
"Landlords are increasing rents," said Finding. "I think there is a lack of truly affordable housing for the amounts of money that people are earning."
In 2022, Finding said there were 555 homeless people in Newport News. One year later, the number increased to 752.
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In response to the crisis, Link has tried to meet the need by adding more units of housing for individuals living with a disability and increasing the capacity of the shelter.
"We've had to double up on the shelters, so we now run two shelter sites for each week that we function over twenty weeks," explained Finding.
Finding says they've also offered to extend shelter hours. While the city says that's a future possibility, Mayor Phillip Jones told News 3 that he and other city leaders want to execute different plans of action first.
"We are going to talk to our communities and have a short-term and long-term plan. Our second plan is to be to hire an external consultant to see how we can address unhoused populations here in Newport News," said Mayor Phillip Jones of Newport News. "Lastly, we are going to do a regional study to look at our unhoused population here on the peninsula.
The city of Newport News says more information about these current studies will be revealed to the public in the new year.
