The term "homeless" is applied to two different segments of our low-income population:

• One segment consists of the many people who lack a home of their own. They may be crowded in with relatives and friends, face eviction, or exist in unsanitary or sub-standard temporary housing.
  
  
• The second category of homelessness involves those people with no shelter at all who live on the streets, in parks, under bridges, and in similar places- the so-called "street people."
  SHARE has three programs dedicated to working with the homeless population. Three are briefly described below.

WE CARE

This program is designed as a life-changing process, which includes development of life skills and positive attitudes necessary for homeless people to become self-sufficient. It is not an emergency assistance program; rather, it is a transitional housing program with intensive case management. Participants are referred by other service providers or shelters, and may remain in the program for a maximum of two years. Twelve types of assistance are provided as applicable. They include: housing; transportation; food assistance; medical and dental attention; psychological, drug and alcohol counseling; job training and employment assistance; education; and life skills training and childcare. This program also incorporates an outreach team that works directly with the "street" homeless. This facet of the program is the vital first step in eliminating homelessness in our community. Outreach provides a multitude of necessary services including transportation, blankets, food, and relocation. Frequently, the outreach team is able to move clients from the street to temporary housing into either permanent housing or the WE CARE program depending on individual needs.

CHANGE

This program is designed as a scaled down version of the WE CARE program and operates in Pickens County only. The program offers ten units of housing through its transitional housing component.

Dorothy B. Mims Place

In a continued effort to reduce the number of homeless in Greenville County, four three-bedroom duplex housing units have been constructed. Dorothy B. Mims place is a case management/participant driven program that provides a safe and supportive environment to assist homeless families in stabilizing their living situation. The families residing in these units are assisted in becoming stabilized and ready to move into their own home within a six month period on average.