Homeless Task Force

The Homeless Task Force is a group of people concerned about the homeless situation in our community. Led by Lora Holladay, this task force has already seen successes in addressing the needs of homlessness and have began working on a plan for York County's homeless population. One success is the first homeless men's warming center, opened in 2007 through a partnership between the City of Rock Hill, York County Government, Salvation Army, United Way and many faith-based organizations. To learn more about the men affected by homelessness and helped by the warming center, please download 'Warm Thoughts from the Warming Center" at the right of this page.

Lora Holladay and Susan Dean, Executive Director for Pilgrims' Inn, attended the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) annual conference in Washington D. C. in August 2008. The NAEH is considered the nations leading agency on best practices concerning homelessness, giving Pilgrims Inn Executive Director Susan Dean and United Way Homeless Taskforce Chair Lora Holladay access to best practices concerning homelessness from cities across the nation. They met with city leaders and service providers who have completed action plans for homelessness and are currently implementing these plans in their communities. The York County community, led by the City of Rock Hill and United Way of York County, SC, plans to develop York County's action plan concerning homelessness this fall.

Holladay and Ray Koterba, the City of Rock Hill's Director of Housing & Neighborhood Services, met with city leaders and Plan Implementation Director in Hennepin County, Minnesota this summer, as well. They visited service agencies in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area to learn best practices, as Hennepin County is recognized nationally as the leader in reducing their homeless population.

The Homeless Task Force is always looking for new parternships, volunteers and ideas concerning the homeless population in York County. If this is your passion, please contact Lora Holladay by calling 803.324.2735 for more information.