Organizational Updates
Participate in Our 2027-2028 Policy Agenda Development – Network Wide Survey Open until July 12, 2026.
In preparation for next year’s long state legislative session, the NC Housing Coalition is developing our 2027-2028 Policy Agenda, and we need your input. Every two years, we consult our membership across the housing ecosystem–from homelessness services to affordable housing development–in order to build a robust, high-impact policy agenda that addresses housing Supply, Subsidy, Stability, and Systems in North Carolina. This policy agenda will guide our state legislative advocacy for the next two years, which is why it is critical to get your perspective and expertise. Share your input for our 2027-2028 Policy Agenda by July 12, and be on the lookout for more updates as we develop our legislative priorities with you.
What does a Well-Being Budget mean to you? Join us, NC Budget & Tax Center, Just Economics, and the NC Council of Churches on June 15 and 16 in WNC!
You are invited to join the NC Council of Churches, NC Housing Coalition, Just Economics, and NC Budget & Tax Center for a community workshop: “Imagining a Well-Being Budget for North Carolina.” Our state budget is a plan for how we will come together to meet needs and pursue opportunities as a community. In this workshop, we want to create space for you to IMAGINE the possibilities if your elected officials used our tax dollars to fund the priorities in your community. Come together with your neighbors for:
- A light dinner and a short presentation on how state tax cuts are diverting our public dollars to corporations and the wealthy few, while undermining health, public education, and the many components of well-being in our communities
- A workshop to hear YOUR priorities for how state lawmakers should spend our public dollars in the state budget to support well-being in your community
- Opportunities to deepen your engagement
When & Where:
Monday, June 15, 6-8pm in Brevard – RSVP HERE
Trust Center in Brevard for June 15th, 6-8PM
67 West Main Street
Brevard, NC 28712
Tuesday, June 16, 6-8pm in Asheville – RSVP HERE.
Land of the Sky United Church of Christ
15 Overbrook Place
Asheville, NC 28805
Federal updates
Urge HUD to withdraw the Proposed Rule rolling back Equal Access protections
Earlier this spring, we announced that HUD had released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that seeks to rollback LGBTQ+ protection in HUD programs. While HUD’s messaging around the rulemaking focuses on shelter access, HUD’s proposal is much broader than that. The Proposed Rule would eliminate LGBTQ+ protections across a range of HUD programs.
Submit your own comment urging HUD to withdraw the Proposed Rule by June 29 at 11:59 pm ET!
- Organizations can find comment drafting guidance and templates here.
- Individuals can submit a public comment by June 29 using A4TE’s comment portal here.
State & Legislative Updates
Call to Action: Contact Your General Assembly Members Today to Stop H437
H437 – Drug Free Homeless Service Zones/Unauthorized Public Camping is a dangerous bill targeting the most vulnerable North Carolinians. Rather than focusing on solutions, this bill criminalizes their crisis and adds more legal and financial pressures to the local communities and governments trying to serve them. In its latest form, the bill does the following:
- Establishes criminal penalties for operators of service campuses if any person in or within 100 feet of their campus violates the drug free zone statute – meaning service providers, congregations, and government agencies could be held equally liable for the behavior of individuals outside of their control.
- Bans unauthorized camping or sleeping statewide, and asks local governments to establish designated encampment areas without providing any dedicated funds to support new initiatives. Localities would be responsible for the administration and financing of designated areas, including, but not limited to, site acquisition and facilities, sanitation, policing and public safety, and staffing.
- Permits holding localities legally accountable for unauthorized public camping and/or being unable to establish designated encampment areas that do not meet the requirements of the bill.
The sponsors and supporters of this bill claim that it will create safer, more humane conditions for people experiencing homelessness. In practice, the proposed law will further criminalize the housing crisis and penalize organizations and local governments for visible homelessness, while providing no additional funding or resources to meet the requirements within the bill. Arrests and penalties will only make it more difficult for North Carolinians to access services that end their homelessness and will place further staffing and budgetary constraints on localities and their law enforcement agencies.
This bill could be heard by the Senate Rules Committee this week and sent to the Senate floor for a vote, the pressure is working, don’t stop!
Contact your representatives today to oppose H437: tell them to stop criminalizing homelessness and focus on evidence-based housing solutions.
To read the latest version of the bill click here. To find your members of the NC General Assembly, click here.
Additional Meetings – NCGA
Senate Rules is scheduled (as of 9:05am on 6/16/2026) to meet at 2:30pm
We’ll also be watching SB1047 – Regulatory Reform Act, which will be heard by Senate Judiciary today at 11:00am
To view the full legislative calendar click here.
State Budget Update
The state budget was initially anticipated to be released this week. Now, Republican leaders in the NCGA say they are expecting it to be released later this month. It has been almost 1,000 days since NC passed a budget.
Other Legislative Headlines
Reports, Events, and Resources
Reports
- LIHTC at 40: How Much Affordable Housing Has Been Built in Your State? | Urban Institute
- North Carolina – 87 LIHTC units per 10,000 residents – 93,102 total LIHTC units – for 10.7M residents
- Addressing the Housing Affordability Crisis Requires Increasing Housing Supply and Expanding Rental Assistance | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Events
- [webinar] State of the Nation’s Housing 2026 Report Release, Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, Wednesday, June 17 at 4 p.m. ET. Learn more and register here.
- [webinar] When College and Housing Collide: Addressing Homelessness Among College Students | co-hosted by Opportunity Starts at Home (OSAH) campaign roundtable members New America and SchoolHouse Connection, Thursday, June 18 from 3 – 4 p.m. ET. Learn more and register here.
- [webinar] Federal Fair Housing Basics | Justice in Aging, Wednesday, June 24 from 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET. Learn more and register here.
- The National Fair Housing Alliance is hosting their 2026 Conference, “Building the Future We Deserve: Solutions for America’s Fair and Affordable Housing Crisis” from June 27-30 at the Capital Hilton in D.C. Virtual and in person registration options available (registration cost varies). Learn more and register here.
- [webinar] National Low Income Housing Coalition, Disaster Housing Recovery: Advocacy Toolkit Training, Tuesday, June 30, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. ET. Learn more and register here.
- The National Alliance to End Homelessness is hosting their 2026 conference and Capitol Hill Day from July 8-10 in D.C. Standard rate: $985. Learn more and register here.
- Charlotte Planners’ Meetup | NC Chapter of the American Planning Association, Thursday, July 9 from 6-8 p.m. at Hopfly Brewing in Southend.
- Come network, catch up with colleagues, and hang out with other planners. Open to all planners and related fields.
