Organizational Updates
Save the Date for this year’s Bringing It Home: Ending Homelessness in NC conference on May 15-16, 2025 at the McKimmon Center in Raleigh, featuring National Coalition for the Homeless Executive Director Donald Whitehead Jr.! Homelessness services professionals and allies will gather for two days to learn, network, and collaborate with industry experts from across North Carolina and beyond.
Bringing It Home: Ending Homelessness in NC is a statewide conference dedicated to ensuring that homelessness in North Carolina is rare, brief, and one time only. The two-day conference will include more than a dozen presentations, panels, and workshops covering a broad range of topics related to homelessness. There will also be opportunities to network and share your own insights with fellow professionals and advocates. The conference is hosted by the NC Housing Coalition, NC Coalition to End Homelessness, and the NC DHHS ESG Office.
Registration will open in March. Sign up for updates, or check out our Bringing It Home 2025 Conference Page. Contact hsolomon@nchousing.org with any questions.
Federal & National Updates
Key things to be aware of this week:
- Federal Point in Time count data from 2024 was released in late December – largest number of people experiencing homelessness on record.
- Between 2023 and 2024, the number of individuals experiencing homelessness in NC increased by 17%. Increases in unsheltered individuals outpaced increases in sheltered individuals across the state (25% vs. 10%).
- The 2024 PIT Count identified 11,626 people experiencing homelessness across NC. The 2025 PIT Count will take place in communities across the US later this month.
- CFPB Finalizes Rule To Remove Medical Bills From Credit Reports
- The CFPB expects the rule will lead to the approval of approximately 22,000 additional, affordable mortgages every year and that Americans with medical debt on their credit reports could see their credit scores rise by an average of 20 points.
- The House & Senate recently announced assignments for key committees responsible for housing and homelessness policies and programs. As a reminder, Republicans hold a majority in both the House and Senate. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) will continue to serve on the Senate Banking and Finance Committees. Newly elected Rep. Tim Moore (R-NC) will serve as a member of the House Financial Services Committee, which was previously chaired by Representative Patrick McHenry (R-NC) , who did not run for reelection.
- On Thursday, January 16 at 10 a.m., the Senate Banking Committee will hold a nomination hearing for Scott Turner, President-elect Trump’s HUD secretary nominee. Turner previously led Opportunity Zone work during Trump’s previous administration.
More in Federal & National News
- HUD Streamlines and Modernizes Affordable Housing Regulations, Making Housing More Accessible for Families Nationwide
- HUD Increases Financing Flexibility for Multifamily Affordable Housing Development
State & Local Updates
- The General Assembly reconvened in Raleigh last week for the start of the 2025 Long Session.
- HUD recently announced 2 CDBG – DR awards for Helene recovery in NC. $1.4B will be awarded to the state and $225M directly to the City of Asheville.
- NC’s new governor signs five executive orders to expedite Helene recovery | NC Newsline
- In one of his first executive orders, Gov. Josh Stein announced the creation of the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina (GROW NC). This Office will be tasked with leading Helene recovery efforts and is led by former Wake County Commissioner Matt Calabria.
- New affordable housing opens | hpenews.com
- ‘A whole lot of controversy’ | Hickory leaders discuss abolishing public housing authority board due to voucher concerns
- Southeast Raleigh grapples with gentrification, affordable housing needs | WUNC
- Work underway on new Morehead affordable housing development | Carteret County News-Times
- Where and why Habitat for Humanity in Wake County is now building townhomes
- City of Greensboro fines property owner who hasn’t fixed heat for residents in apartments | FOX8 WGHP
- Greensboro Residents Demand Action on Housing Conditions | The Assembly
Events
- [webinar] States as Laboratories: Early Lessons from Pro-Housing Designation Programs | Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley, January 22 at 1 p.m.
- [webinar] Housing as a Pathway to Justice: Introducing Our National Toolkit | Enterprise Community Partners, January 29, 1 – 2:15 p.m.
- [webinar] Manufactured for the Future: Building a Climate-Resilient Manufactured Housing Stock | Urban Institute, February 4, 2025 2:00 – 4:30 p.m. Register here
- Registration Open: National Low Income Housing Policy Forum March 24-27, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
Reports & Resources
- Strengthening Affordable Housing with State Tax Credits: Recommended Practices and Key Considerations | Novogradac
- The 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress (Pt 1) | HUD
- Introduction – Fair Housing in Disaster Recovery: Reference Guide for Equitable Disaster Recovery | HUD
- This reference guide is targeted towards recipients of Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) and CDBG Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funds, as well as community organizations, nonprofits, subrecipients, and other similar stakeholders in disaster recovery, including community organizations advancing fair housing and civil rights work.
- Household and New Housing Unit Demand Projections for 2025–2035 and 2035–2045 | Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University
- Interim Strategies for Responding to Unsheltered Homelessness | National Alliance to End Homelessness
- Housing as a Pathway to Justice Toolkit | Enterprise Community Partners
