Affordable Housing

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.

This Pride Month, we join in the celebration of LGTBQ community’s decades of activism and elevate their contributions to affordable housing. Habitat Wake supporters, staff, homeowners and our community at-large have benefited from the labor and creativity of this community, and for that we are grateful.

One of Habitat Wake’s supporters shared this about our mission:

On Wednesday, May 4, Habitat Wake hosted our first ever Local Lobby Day. During this day of action, advocacy volunteers raised their collective voices in support of affordable housing and asked elected officials for additional funding for affordable housing in the Town and City budgets.

As you may have heard, it’s budget season! From now through June, our local governments will be considering funding priorities and gathering input from the community to inform the budget for next fiscal year. Public budgets are the guiding document for how taxpayer dollars are spent. They reflect a community’s values and investment priorities.

Local budgets must first provide critical services to residents, such as water and sewer infrastructure, trash collection, and public safety. Additional revenues can be allocated to other types of programs like arts and cultural resources.

Shack-a-Thon is a 20-year collaboration between the N.C. State Habitat for Humanity Chapter and Habitat Wake. 

This past Sunday, I was out on the Brickyard at NC State’s campus and got to see students building shacks from the ground up for this year’s Shack-a-Thon to benefit Habitat Wake as well as raise awareness for affordable housing. I am here to tell you these students are strong, smart, innovative and ready to raise money! 

Every year, Habitats across the world take part in Women Build, an initiative that started 30 years ago in Charlotte, NC, when a group of women came together to build a house alongside a woman in the Habitat homebuyer program. This concept, championed by Habitat for Humanity International, has propelled the global movement for affordable housing to new heights.

This month, over 600 staff, volunteers, homeowners, and advocates from across the country joined Habitat’s annual legislative conference, Habitat on the Hill. The conference gave us a chance to learn from our peer affiliates, underscore the need for affordable housing amid COVID-19, and, most importantly, advocate for policies and funding that support housing affordability to members of Congress.

Here are a few bits of knowledge we gained throughout the week:
 

At Habitat Wake, we want to commemorate all those whose strides have broken barriers over centuries and geographic locations. We also cheer on those who are carrying the torch today, and we aim to be good partners in that labor—especially when it comes to housing. 

The future of Black history relies on housing affordability