RALEIGH, NC – Today state organizations stand in solidarity with local advocates, service providers, renters and disaster survivors who held a press event in Asheville, NC at the Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church to call on Chief Justice Paul Newby and Governor Roy Cooper to enact a 90-day eviction moratorium as rent comes due for many who have temporarily lost their income due to Tropical Storm Helene.
Among the speakers were some of the households at risk of eviction. An estimated 55 percent of households in the region were burdened by housing costs before the storm. With the temporary loss of jobs, the burden of housing payments is likely to grow unless addressed by a combination of a moratorium on evictions, foreclosures, and rental assistance.
“At Grace Covenant we have been doing rent support since just a few days after the storm. As weeks pass and people are not able to work, the need for support is growing at an alarming rate. So many people are coming together as a community to meet these needs, but we need governmental action to help keep people in their homes in this devastating time. None of us doing relief work can keep up with the scope and scale of need for rent support and utility support. And eviction letters are already starting to come,” said Marcia Mount Shoop, Pastor and Head of Staff at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church.
The NC General Assembly appropriated just $1 million in rental assistance to date. Court dockets are beginning to fill up with eviction filings, and these are only the evictions that are following due process by going through the courts. Many have reported extra-judicial evictions and displacement despite having nowhere else to go.
“We know that FEMA Individual Assistance is moving – almost $200 million has gone out the door to folks impacted by the storm – but people fall through the cracks, and right now it’s critical that we are thinking of those people as well,” said Samuel Gunter, Executive Director of the North Carolina Housing Coalition.
The NC Housing Coalition released an analysis of the housing needs and investments made to date that will be updated as policymakers continue to make funding decisions.
“Even Before Helene, this part of our state already faced an extremely tight housing market with severe housing cost burdens, meaning it was already challenging to find a place to live. With so many homes damaged or destroyed, if people lose their housing now, there is nowhere else for them to go,” said Stephanie Watkins-Cruz, Director of Housing Policy at the NC Housing Coalition. “This is a historic storm with impacts that will last generations. Our approach to investment in stabilization and recovery cannot be traditional. Countless lives and the wellbeing of communities across Western North Carolina are at stake.”
The need is significant. As of October 21st, more than 111,000 are eligible for Temporary Shelter Assistance with FEMA. Nearly 25,000 Disaster Unemployment Assistance claims have been filed from September 29th through October 31st.
“North Carolina policymakers must listen to the survivors in Western NC and take immediate steps to curtail additional harms that will result from their inaction. A 90-day moratorium on evictions and foreclosures coupled with housing assistance will be critical to keeping families housed and workers in the region while they experience temporary job loss and begin to rebuild their lives and communities,” said Alexandra Sirota, Executive Director, NC Budget & Tax Center. “North Carolina can afford to meet the need for housing assistance with the funds available in the Savings Reserve Fund and by pausing scheduled income tax cuts for profitable corporations and the wealthy. Failure to do so represents the wrong choice for the well-being of our state.”
For more information, contact Stephanie Watkins-Cruz at swatkinscruz@nchousing.org or at 919-442-8265.
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