As millions of Americans face uncertainty from the lapse of SNAP benefits and increased insurance premiums, crucial community centers for housing and financial resources may disappear in the coming months. The more than 400 HUD employees recently targeted for layoffs include the entire Office of Housing Counseling, effectively shuttering the program. Without Congressional intervention, dozens of NC housing counseling agencies will lose funding that enables them to provide crucial services stabilizing and supporting families at risk of financial crisis.
Housing counseling agencies are most well known for their homeownership counseling services at low or no cost, which particularly benefit first-time and first-generation homebuyers. In addition, many housing counseling agencies offer services such as foreclosure prevention and financial coaching, supporting families as they navigate life after disasters and access complicated aid systems. Housing counselors are trusted guides that bridge the technical gap between federal, state, and local programs that keep families in their homes whether they rent or buy. The NC Housing Coalition coordinates a network of 20 housing counseling agencies across the state. In 2024, these agencies served more than 8,800 families, and they are on track to serve more than 10,000 families by the end of 2025.
Congress has already appropriated $57.5 million in FY25 funds for housing counseling, and HUD owes more than $100,000 in unreimbursed housing counseling services provided by NC Housing Coalition’s network alone. HUD’s Office of Housing Counseling manages the distribution of these Federal funds, and there is currently no alternative in place for reimbursing funds already owed, let alone awarding and distributing new funds. In Western NC, the loss of Federal funds also threatens the leveraging of more than $1 million in private funding to keep people in their homes as the region’s economy recovers from Hurricane Helene.
Without Federal funding, half or more of North Carolina’s housing counseling agencies may close within the next year. Essential services may be limited to regional hubs that will be inaccessible to many families, particularly in rural areas. Homeownership will be further out of reach for many, while others will have less community resources when facing eviction, loss of Federal benefits, or rising costs. Without local housing counseling agencies, an estimated 50,000 families in North Carolina will lose these essential services and resources.
Take Action
Housing counseling has a history of strong bipartisan support and is a top provision in the ROAD to Housing Act that recently passed through markup in the Senate Banking Committee. Tell our Congressional delegation that housing counseling is a vital resource for communities across NC, and that they need to ensure the funds they have already appropriated reach agencies so that they can continue supporting families and aspiring homeowners.
We are also collecting stories about the positive impact of housing counseling in North Carolina as we advocate for Congress to keep their commitment to fund housing counseling for the next year. Share your story here and share this opportunity with your networks.
