OMAHA, Neb (KMTV) — It’s something that many folks in Omaha have noticed lately: tent camps, RV’s parked behind abandoned businesses and panhandlers next to major intersections are just a few of the signs of a growing homeless population.
It's being noticed from downtown to the suburbs.
“This office is contacted every day, from people on the eastern half of Douglas County to the western half of Douglas County. They are concerned about the growing homeless challenge,” said Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson.
Those increased calls don’t come as a surprise when you look at how the unhoused population in Omaha has grown, with advocates recording a more than 150% increase in the homeless population in the last four years.
“We have done point time counts mandated by the federal government. What we have seen since 2019 is a steady trend going up of unsheltered individuals. 2019 was about 46 and in 2023 when we went out last January we were over 200,” said Jason Feldhaus, the executive director of the Metro Area Continuum of Care for the Homeless.
Feldhaus says that the burden of increased inflation has sent many folks out onto the streets. He says during the COVID-19 pandemic they had more tools to work with those facing housing struggles, but now that aid has dried up the number of people who are unhoused has gone up.
“We had quite a bit of rental assistance that was available through the COVID relief package that was passed by Congress,” said Feldhaus.
Responding to the challenge has been tough for law enforcement as well as advocates.
Hanson says that while his deputies can respond to safety concerns regarding the unhoused, they aren’t equipped to address the long-term problems they face like behavioral issues and addiction.
But there is good news on that front.
“The Douglas County Board has recently decided to build 78 new behavioral health beds in Douglas County Corrections. That is gonna take a lot of pressure off of the system but we need more, we need inpatient behavioral healthcare beds. Either an Omaha regional center run by the state or additional private behavioral health beds,” said Hanson.
Feldhaus encourages folks to reach out to advocates instead of law enforcement, unless there is an emergency or safety concern, and they can connect them to additional help.
“There are multiple, what we call street outreach programs where individuals can go out and meet with the people who are unsheltered and start to support them from a position of connecting them to additional resources,” said Feldhaus.
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