Faith-Based Initiatives in the Charlotte Area

Faith-based organizations have a long track record in Charlotte of helping to overcome homelessness and increase affordable housing. One of the longest running examples is Room in the Inn, which expanded to Charlotte in 1996. Coordinated by Roof Above, Roof in the Inn partners with a network of churches and community organizations. The partner sites provide meals, overnight winter shelter, and other services for the needy, particularly during the winter. In recent years, the program operates in around 75 congregations and community sites in the area, down from over 100 before the pandemic.

The Salvation Army, another faith-based organization, has been deeply involved in mitigating homelessness and housing insecurity in the Charlotte area. For example, the Salvation Army has the Center of Hope near Uptown Charlotte for women and children dealing with homelessness. Every night, they sleep an average of 275 people. The Salvation Army also partners with Inlivian to offer 60 apartments for families living at the Center of Hope to move to for 5 years at a time for them to get stabilized.

Driven by these various faith-based projects in the area, in 2024, the City of Charlotte created the Faith in Housing Initiative, which partners with faith-based organizations to increase affordable housing in the area. In the past two years, more than 200 faith-based organizations have participated in their events focused on expanding affording housing and impacting the community. The Initiative also recently held a technical assistance grant competition where at least 25 organizations would receive up to $30,000 to create affordable housing and community serving spaces.

Through this partnership, the city works to transform the underutilized land and buildings of select local faith-based organizations into affordable housing and developments that serve the community. Currently, the city is working with a cohort of 12 faith-based organizations who collectively own over 88 acres of land in Charlotte to turn some of their property into rental housing, senior housing, community-serving spaces, and mixed-use developments.

One of those in this cohort, The Park Church, completed an 80-unit affordable housing project for seniors 55 years and older in 2023. Now, they are working to modify 30 acres next to their church into 320 affordable units. Similarly, Mission City Church in the University area is attempting to rezone roughly 5 acres of land for 65 townhomes for households earning 80 percent or less of the annual median income.

Relatedly, as discussed in a previous Building Bridges post by Mary Ann Priester and Liz Ward, there has been an array of faith-based development projects that have been working with the city to bring more affordable housing to the local area. These projects contribute land, buildings, and capital, as well as provide workforce development skills and jobs for people in the community. These include projects working with the city to offer affordable housing like:

• Centra Square, completed in 2018 through a partnership with St. Paul Baptist Church. They offer 112 apartments for people earning under 60% of the AMI.
• Mezzanine on Freedom, completed in 2020 through a partnership with Covenant Presbyterian Church. They offer 185 apartments for people earning between 30% to 80% of the AMI.
• Guardian Angel Villa, completed in 2021 through a partnership with The Catholic Diocese of Charlotte. They offer 81 units that serve low-income seniors that are 55 years and older.
• Sugaree Place, completed in 2023 through a partnership with Mayfield Memorial Baptist Church. They offer 51 apartments for people earning between 30% to 80% of the AMI.
• Varick on 7^th Street, completed in 2024 through a partnership with Little Rock A.M.E. Zion. They have 53 apartments for people earning between 30% to 80% of the AMI, and the other 52 apartments are market-rate.
• Mount Moriah Seniors, set to be completed later this year through a partnership with Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church. They plan to offer 92 affordable units to seniors 55 years and older.

Moreover, there are too many faith-based communities to name that provide meals and other services to the homeless and needy in the region. To give just one example, Mecklenburg Metropolitan Interfaith Network mobilizes organizations and individuals of different faiths throughout the county to strengthen the local community. This includes assisting with the Point-in-Time Count to track unsheltered individuals, serving meals at local shelters, and establishing an eviction prevention fund to prevent households from being evicted.