You can help make a difference at the federal level. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), the United States faces a shortage of nearly 7 million affordable and available rental homes for households with the lowest income. In Charlotte-Mecklenburg, the number of low-cost rental units (those which rent at or below $800 per month) has dropped from 45% of all rental units in 2011 to just 22% of units in 2019. This has contributed to the current gap of over 23,000 rental units for extremely low-income households in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. Additional federal housing investments are being considered through the Build Back Better Act, including new rental assistance that could serve 1 million more families; new funding for public housing to repair units that would house 2.5 million residents; and new Housing Trust Fund allocations that would support more than 300,000 affordable homes to be built and preserved for households with the lowest income. To learn more about how to show your support for these investments, you can click on the following links to access:

• National Low Income Housing Coalition
• North Carolina Housing Coalition

Use this toolkit to talk about issues related to housing and homelessness with adult family members, friends and colleagues. Want to engage your kids? Check out the special toolkit designed for children and youth.

This blog post provides a “top five” reading list to learn more about housing instability and homelessness, including a brief overview; why you should read the report; and what each item listed means for Charlotte-Mecklenburg. These “top five” also share housing solutions to address the gaps between housing cost and what households can afford.

Housing and homelessness issues intersect with the work of elected officials on boards including the Charlotte City Council, Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education. In order to be effective and sustainable, solutions to address housing instability and homelessness must transcend the work of all public sectors. Attend board meetings to listen to the discussions, be part of the solution, and advocate for positive change. Click here to access all information in one place.

Use #EverybodyCountsCLT hashtag to share information about the Point-in-Time Count