$2 million for emergency housing vouchers headed to Charlotte from stimulus bill
Inlivian, Charlotte’s housing authority, is getting a little more than $2 million for emergency housing vouchers through the American Rescue Plan.
The funds will pay for 178 vouchers for people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, and those leaving domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking or other unsafe situations.
“This award comes at a critical time when the need for affordable housing could not be greater,” Inlivian CEO A. Fulton Meachem Jr. said in a statement Wednesday.
“The pandemic impacted families in ways no one could have expected or planned for. These vouchers will help provide some much-needed stability and opportunity.”
Charlotte’s is among the largest allocations in the state, according to a list from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It’s second only to the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs with nearly 400.
Locally, the Gastonia Housing Authority got 37 and the Housing Authority for the city of Concord received 26.
North Carolina will get funding for nearly 1,300 housing vouchers statewide from the federal bill, according to HUD, part of $5 billion allocated for vouchers.
The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, signed by President Joe Biden in March, includes several other housing-related programs, including rent and mortgage assistance, home repairs and fair housing initiatives.
Inlivian will work with area organizations and the county’s continuum of care program to identify qualified households.
Pandemic housing crisis
Charlotte has experienced an increase of housing instability during the pandemic, most prominently with the tent encampment that grew throughout 2020 just outside uptown.
Since county health officials cleared the site in mid-February to address a growing rat infestation, county staff and social services agencies moved more than 200 people into hotel rooms, with the goal of finding housing for everyone.
But relocation efforts have been slow, complicated by a myriad of residents’ health and employment issues and other needs.
Eight residents have found permanent housing, and another 37 have been connected to housing resources but haven’t moved yet, according to a May 21 update from the county Health and Human Services Committee.
In early May there were 149 people left in the hotel, which is planned to operate until the end of September.
Charlotte in April announced it would use $2 million from the first COVID-19 relief bill to house 75 former camp residents for a year.
This story was originally published June 2, 2021 at 1:01 PM.
%20Cropped.jpg)