Federal Updates
- Today is Election Day! If you haven’t already, make a plan to cast your vote in the midterm elections. Voter information, including polling places and your sample ballot can be found on the state’s board of elections website, which is gov. Polling places in NC are open today from 6:30am-7:30pm.
- Lawmakers have been focused on the election and there are not many updates out of Congress.
- The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelesssness released a report urging communities to stop criminalizing homelessness. 48 states have laws that criminalize homelessness or poverty in some way. There’s been a 50% rise nationally in “camping bans” in the last 15 years. However, these types of laws are not effective and criminalization is more likely to exacerbate homelessness. A better approach is to treat homelessness as a housing and health crisis instead of a problem for the criminal justice system.
State & Local Community Updates
- Habitat for Humanity Cabarrus County (Habitat Cabarrus) is one of more than 230 Habitat for Humanity affiliates organizations awarded a grant from Wells Fargo as part of its nationwide initiative to help low-to-moderate income families construct and improve homes across the country. Habitat Cabarrus will receive $80,000 and use the funding to build four new homes in Kannapolis and Concord.
- Asheville City Council unanimously approved changes to the manufactured home ordinance. Previously, manufactured housing could not be replaced on a site that had previously had manufactured housing if the site was left vacant for more than 180 days. The new ordinance removes this time limit, which is expected to preserve naturally-occurring affordability in the state’s most expensive rental market.
- The Community Housing Coalition is launching a new program in Madison County to provide affordable replacement houses for qualifying program participants whose homes are beyond repair. A pilot phase for the Affordable Replacement Housing Program was completed at the end of 2020. Four more houses are expected to be built through this program by the end of 2024, with plans to expand that number in the future.
- Band Together and United Way of the Greater Triangle held a concert that helped raise more than $1 million for affordable housing. The Mighty Giveback show raised $1,008,723, with proceeds going to 11 Triangle nonprofits, including
- CASA
- Community Empowerment Fund
- EMPOWERment, Inc.
- Families Together
- Habitat for Humanity (Durham, Orange and Wake affiliates)
- Hope Renovations
- Housing for New Hope
- InterAct
- Passage Home
NCHC Updates
Events
- [in-person] Housing Lunch and Learn | Pisgah Legal Services, 11/9, 12:00-1:30pm @ First United Methodist in Hendersonville.
- Learn how local advocates are working together to prevent homelessness and create affordable housing opportunities in Henderson County. Lunch will be complimentary but registration is required. Sign up
- [virtual] Looking Forward: Making Sense of the Election Results in North Carolina | NC Justice Center, 11/15, 12pm
- [virtual] Next-Generation Innovations in Housing Affordability | Urban Institute, 11/15, 1pm
- [virtual] Leveraging Data in Decision-Making for Local Governments | HUD, 11/15, 2pm
- [virtual] Improving Experiences for Residents with Disabilities in Federally Assisted Family Housing | Urban Institute, 11/16, 12:15-1:30pm
- [virtual] Helping Older Americans During The Pandemic: The Role Of Service Coordinators | Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, 11/18, 12:15pm
- [virtual] Toward New Narratives About Aging in Place | Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, 12/8, 12pm
Reports & Resources
- Tenant-Based Housing Voucher Programs Improve Health Outcomes | Journal of Public Health Management and Practice
- NLIHC released a fact sheet and updated database highlighting how states have allocated Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) to invest in affordable housing and homelessness prevention and services.
- S. Eviction Policy is Harming Children: The Case for Sustainable Eviction Prevention to Promote Health Equity | Bill of Health
- How to Make Broadband a Priority in Affordable Rental Housing Development | The Pew Charitable Trusts
- New Federal Data Shows the Home Appraisal Gap Is Getting Worse | Bloomberg CityLab
In the News
- It’s harder to buy a house. This city fought back by outbidding corporate landlords | NPR
- Older, White, and Wealthy Home Buyers Are Pushing Others Out of the Market | NY Times
- Charlotte voters to decide on $50 million bond for affordable housing | WBTV
- ‘Pivotal time in our growth:’ Affordable housing, open space bonds up for vote in Buncombe | ABC 13
- How a solution to homelessness in Charlotte is similar to an idea from Houston | WCNC
- How will the latest interest rate increase affect the Triangle housing market? | News & Observer