Last Monday, committee member Steve Cook and Mayor William Massengill asked residents and town leaders to share their concerns about the town’s homeless population.

Committee member Becky Best proposed using vacant town-owned buildings as shelters for the homeless on cold nights. Volunteers could provide blankets and pillows.

“There are so many things to do in this world,” she said. “Everybody can do something out of all those things. I am interested in doing something to provide relief for people who are homeless.”

Benson Police Chief Kenneth Edwards said he knew of only two homeless people in town. One man lived under a bridge and became widely known after a newspaper profiled him in a story. Another man escaped an abusive situation and fled to the woods. He lived in a tent for 14 months and worked odd jobs. Now, the man lives in Benson public housing and works two part-time jobs.

Edwards and his officers refer people who are homeless to various groups, including Harbor and the Beacon Rescue Mission. Harbor provides aid, including shelter, to victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. Beacon Rescue Mission runs a homeless shelter in Dunn.

Sometimes, Edwards will put a homeless person in a hotel for a night, but not everyone accepts the offer, he said.

“We run into situations where they don’t want help,” Edwards said. “They don’t want to talk to me or anybody. In those situations, you will find drugs, alcohol or mental health-related issues. In that situation, we try to figure out what the next step is. Most of the time, it’s going to be mental health.”

Town Council members Casandra Stack and Fred Nelson said they had had encounters with homeless people. Nelson said a homeless person moved into an empty shed near his home. The shed burned when the person started a fire to keep warm. Stack said she had worked with a woman who was staying in a Raleigh homeless shelter with her three children.

Amos Love works with Beacon Rescue Mission. He said the shelter helped 190 people and served more than 12,000 meals last year. Of those 190 people, 70 moved into their own home or apartment, while 28 relapsed into drug or alcohol abuse. “You have one week to find a job,” Love said of the shelter’s rules. “Usually, their jaw hits the table. Once they find a job, their stay there may be 30-45 days. We require they be accountable for their money.

When people get between $600 and $1,000 saved up, they can look for an apartment or a house to rent.” Running a shelter requires around-the-clock staff or volunteers, Love said. “It is obvious when there is a need to say we have got to do something,” Love said. “If nobody stands up and says, ‘I am going to do it,’ it is not going to get done. We all know that. We have all experienced that one way or another.”

Massengill, the town’s mayor, asked Benson police to survey the homeless while they are patrolling the town. He wants to know if the homeless would stay in a shelter on cold nights. Also, Massengill wanted Edwards to share his list of resources with the committee.

“We don’t know what the situation is in town,” said Larry Myhill, a Benson resident. “Maybe starting with something basic, like just opening up one room, will lead us into something bigger.” The committee will meet again Monday, Jan. 12.