Speakers:
Breanna McGowan, LCSW, LMSW, HFTICC Outreach Clinical Director
Kate Taylor Harcourt-Medina, PhD, HFTICC Director of Impact and Development
Time: 11:00am-12:00pm
Description: Participants will be introduced to Hearts for the Invisible Charlotte Coalition (HFTICC), Mecklenburg County’s lead, housing-focused street outreach agency. HFTICC provides comprehensive HUD-defined street outreach using a Housing First model—meeting people where they are (encampments, under bridges, at bus stops, in vehicles), building trust, and connecting them to shelter, permanent housing, healthcare, income, and vital documents, all through a racial equity lens.
The latest local data will be reviewed, including Mecklenburg County’s “One Number” and Point-in-Time figures. These numbers will be connected to broader trends in cost burden and evictions highlighted in the 2025 State of Housing Instability & Homelessness report. A special focus will be placed on older adults with unique health, mobility, and income challenges that demand age-responsive outreach and housing solutions.
Finally, an exploration of HFTICC’s street outreach model in depth will occur, including collaboration with Coordinated Entry, local nonprofits, and Mecklenburg County; how outreach teams support aging and medically fragile neighbors; and practical takeaways for providers, advocates, and community partners statewide who want to make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring in their own communities.
