Skip to content

Housing Call: April 29, 2025

Organizational Updates & Reminders 

NCHC Policy & Advocacy Team is on the road this week! Our Director of Housing Policy Stephanie Watkins-Cruz and Senior Policy Analyst Anna Patterson are attending two different convenings this week centered around policy and collaboration, as well as housing and development.

Currently they’re at a convening in Black Mountain, NC hosted by the Dogwood Health Trust for a policy and advocacy peer learning community convening. Participants in this convening represent organizations throughout Western North Carolina and the state, covering multiple sectors, from housing, to education, economic justice, budget and tax policy, and community organizing. This cohort will focus on creating and strengthening relationships among key state and local policy and advocacy groups in North Carolina, elevate the importance of Western North Carolina and potential policy change options to improve communities in the region, and situate the work within, and in response to, the new political and post-hurricane context.

Tomorrow they head to Atlanta, GA for the remainder of the week for the first ever Regional Housing Convening hosted by the Southern Economic Advancement project or SEAP. Our policy team partnered with SEAP and Housing Louisiana to help plan and design this event which will gather advocates and practitioners from North Carolina, Virginia, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, and West Virginia. The purpose of this convening is to engage in peer-to-peer learning opportunities, understand national policy updates and trends, and share best practices for coalition building and other policy and advocacy work. 

2025 Bringing It Home Conference – Registration Closes May 2

Registration closes on Friday, May 2, 2025 at 5pm for this year’s Bringing It Home: Ending Homelessness in NC conference taking place May 15-16 at the McKimmon Center in Raleigh. Homelessness services providers from across the state will gather to learn, network, and collaborate with industry experts from North Carolina and beyond. This year’s Bringing It Home conference includes a virtual attendance option with select breakout sessions included at a reduced rate. Please note that not all sessions will be available through the virtual conference. Check out the conference website for more details.  

NCHFA 2025 Housing NC Awards – Accepting Nominations

Don’t miss the opportunity to showcase your work in affordable housing or to nominate another property for its excellence in affordable housing. The 36th annual Housing North Carolina Awards will celebrate the best affordable housing in the state—housing that improves the lives of residents and their communities.

Nominate any property type (rental, home ownership, supportive housing) for consideration for the 2025 Housing North Carolina Awards.  Recognition will be given in the following categories: Innovation in Housing, Excellence in Sustainability, Creative Partnerships and Community Impact. Any property type can be entered for consideration in any of the categories.

Winners will be awarded plaques, and are invited to participate in a special panel at the NC Affordable Housing Conference in Raleigh, NC on September 30. In addition, the winning developments will be announced to the local news media.

Submissions can be made using the online portal. For full guidelines on all of the categories, please see the 2025 Housing North Carolina Awards guidelines. Nominations close May 9 at 5:00 pm. 

 

Federal Policy Updates

AmeriCorps Terminates $400 Million in Grants, Cancels 32,000 Members

Late last week, the Corporation for National and Community Service sent letters terminating just under $400 million AmeriCorps grants across the country, cancelling the services of over 32,000 members, effective immediately. In North Carolina, 351 Americorps members at 13 sites across the state were terminated, including the two active AmeriCorps VISTA members that the NC Housing Coalition placed at local housing counseling agencies across the state. We received the termination notice Friday evening, and our VISTA members received notice Monday evening. This follows the demobilization of AmeriCorps’ National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), which Governor Josh Stein spoke out against due to the loss of 52 NCCC members assisting with post-Helene cleanup.

We will share more information as we explore our options. If you or your organization was impacted by these AmeriCorps cuts, contact us at info@nchousing.org.

Congress Sends Letter in Support of AmeriCorps

Last Wednesday, Congress sent a bicameral letter to President Trump signed by 149 lawmakers — 44 senators and 105 members of the House. Please keep mobilizing your networks. We must keep getting messages to Congress – especially Republicans – to protect AmeriCorps. You can read the full text of the letter here.

 

State & Local Updates

Two weeks ago, the NC Senate released their budget proposal for FY25-27, it was discussed in committee on Tuesday and Wednesday and it passed the Senate chamber on Thursday morning. We are still on NC Budget Watch for FY25-27, tracking key housing appropriations

We are pleased to see the Housing Trust Fund funding in the Senate version of the budget. But we are concerned and disappointed at the absence of the Workforce Housing Loan Program (WHLP). We are still early in the budget process though and the House is expected to make considerable changes.

Why does the Workforce Housing Loan Program matter?

  • The Workforce Housing Loan Program (WHLP) was ​established in 2014 to replace the State Housing Tax Credit and is used in conjunction with federal tax credits for the construction and preservation of affordable rental units across the state.
  • The appropriation has been a crucial tool for development and preservation, demonstrating how effectively public funds can be leveraged with private investment for community benefits, particularly in rural areas.
  • Since its creation, it has supported the development of over 2700 rental units
  • WHLP ensures that LIHTC (low income housing tax credit) developments reach rural areas where lower rents typically deter typical private investment. 

This week at the NCGA – Spring Recess is over and the NCGA will be back this week

  • We will continue to keep an eye out for updates regarding the House version of the FY25-27 budget.

Tuesday – April 29, 2025

H781 Unauthorized Public Camping & Sleeping

“An Act Banning Unauthorized Public Camping or sleeping in the state and local government units of the state” 

The bill states that a local government cannot allow or authorize anyone to engage in public sleeping or camping on any public property. Instead, it may designate a specific area of land within the local government’s jurisdiction to be used for public camping or sleeping for no more than one year.

This established area also comes with standards and procedures related to how the property designated for the public camping has to be administered and taken care of. No funding is mentioned as part of this clause.

It also adds an additional process of certification of the site, and for DHHS to inspect the property. Additionally, it allows for businesses to sue local governments if they violate this legislation.

This bill will be going to House Judiciary 2 first and then to State & Local Government.

Wednesday – April 30, 2025

 

Events

  • [webinar] Join Carolina Across 100 on Wednesday, April 30, from 2:00-3:00 PM for a webinar focused on the role of collaboration in addressing housing challenges, featuring the NC Housing Coalition. This interactive session will feature insights from state and local leaders who collaborate across sectors and organizations to meaningfully address housing challenges. Our Director of Housing Policy Stephanie Watkins-Cruz will be one of the panelists. Registration is free and open to the public!
  • [webinar] Housing-Focused Street Outreach: Starting with Data to Inform Decision-Making | National Alliance to End Homelessness, April 30 at 3 p.m. Register here.
  • Faith in Housing Nonprofit Community Mixer | City of Charlotte’s Faith in Housing Initiative, May 8, 3-5 p.m. @ The Ruth by Beau Monde. Register here. Registration closes April 25.
  • Bringing it Home Conference May 15-16, The McKimmon Center in Raleigh. In-person ($125) & virtual ($65) available. Registration closes May 2.
  • CAHEC Conference Tuesday, June 3 – Wednesday, June 4 at the Raleigh Convention Center. Registration is free; Registration closes May 19.

 

In the News

Recommended read

Housing Call: April 22, 2025

Many thanks to our sponsors