Rising Raleigh rents mean more are on the streets this holiday season

All Bobby Mitchell wanted for Christmas was warmth – a pair of gloves, some new shoes, a jacket and a place to call home.

Thanks to help from several community organizations, Mitchell was able to get some of the items on his list, but one still remains out of reach. He is among the more than 1,500 people in Raleigh who are homeless this year, according to the 2022 point-in-time survey.

"Because of the price of the houses, it’s too much," Mitchell said. "Some people can’t afford it. Me, myself, I can’t afford it."

A report by real estate brokerage company Redfin showed the median asking rent in the City of Oaks was $2,100 per month, an increase of almost 22% in a single year; rents have risen faster in Raleigh than in any of the nation's 50 most populous metropolitan areas.

Over the same period, since the end of 2021, the number of people in Wake County who are unsheltered jumped 68%.

Brandon Anderson was moved to help after he saw people sleeping in Raleigh's Moore Square. In honor of a friend killed in gang violence, Anderson collected blankets, then spent his Christmas Day handing them out to people like Mitchell.

Anderson, who has spent time in prison and on the streets, said, "I've been through so much stuff dealing with housing and homelessness and things like that so I always try to give back and help.

"But I’ve never seen it on this level."

He and others expect the next point-in-time survey in January to show even more of our neighbors forced from their homes by the rising cost of rent.

"All I can do is hope and help them," Anderson said.

That is hope and help that keep Mitchell warm as he layers on the blankets for another cold night spent sleeping in his car.

"They take care of you down here," he said of Anderson and the other volunteers. "They give me stuff that I can’t afford."