On Wednesday, March 22, advocates from across Wake County came together to participate in Habitat Wake’s 2nd annual Local Lobby Day.

Throughout the day, Habitat volunteers, homebuyers, homeowners, and concerned residents met with local elected officials from the Wake County Commission and Raleigh City Council.  

This is an adapted version of a guest sermon given by Rick Beech, Habitat Wake VP of Faith Relations, on January 29, 2023 at Pleasant Grove United Methodist. 

While on earth, Jesus talked about the Kingdom of God more than anything else. The Kingdom that Jesus was announcing, however, was not the Kingdom that many were expecting. This Kingdom would not be about power, nationalism, or triumphalism. It would be a new way of being for all of humanity. It would be the Kingdom of love and humility.

Habitat Wake is excited to introduce three new Advocacy Committee members as we kick off the new year! Our Advocacy Committee includes 14 community members connected to affordable housing through policy expertise, relationships to local government, community organizing or lived experience.  

Everyone deserves the personal and economic stability of a safe, affordable home.

For a home to be affordable, housing expenses must be less than 30 percent of a family's income. In Wake and Johnston counties, one in four families spends too much of their income on housing, leaving little left over for other necessities like food, transportation, education and healthcare.

What is affordable housing? 

Simply put, housing is affordable when a household spends no more than 30% of their income on housing, including their rent or mortgage, property taxes, and insurance. 

July 1 marked the start of FY23, which means local governments are implementing their new budgets. Wake County and the City of Raleigh budgeted $1.7 billion and $1.14 billion, prioritizing investments to address population growth, inflation, affordable housing, and other rising demands.

Wake County grows by 62 people every day, making it the 3rd fastest growing county in the country. The local governments’ budgets reflect additional investments to balance this growth.