President’s budget would impact housing!

President’s Proposed Budget

In March, President Trump introduced his blueprint for the 2018 budget which calls for drastic funding cuts to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development programs that serve many of our nation’s most vulnerable populations.

The HOME Investment Partnerships Program, Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), and funding for NeighborWorks® America would be completely eliminated. The proposed cuts would put a tremendous strain on housing organizations, like DHIC and Habitat for Humanity, that rely on these federal programs to provide essential services and opportunities to many families and seniors in our communities.

“These eliminations would be devastating, leaving many families and seniors without decent, safe, and affordable housing,” said Gregg Warren, President of DHIC. “While many cities and counties in the Triangle have stepped up with their commitments, they can’t do it alone.  Federal programs are instrumental in supplementing local and philanthropic funds for organizations that develop housing our neighbors can truly afford.”

Housing matters!  According to a 2016 How Housing Matters survey conducted by the MacArthur Foundation and Hart Research Associates, “ … stable, affordable housing is viewed as a fundamental component of economic security for American families.”  Research has proven that safe, affordable, stable housing powers growth and opportunity, improves academic outcomes, and fosters healthy people and neighborhoods.  Federal investments in affordable housing have lifted millions of families out of poverty. Without these investments, many of these families would be homeless, living in substandard or overcrowded conditions, or struggling to meet other basic needs because too much of their limited income would go to paying rent.

Read how housing has made a difference for the lives of Wake County residents.

DHIC’s Impact

Since 1974, DHIC, a non-profit housing developer and chartered member of NeighborWorks® America, has become one of the leading developers of affordable housing and homeownership opportunities in North Carolina.

Currently, DHIC serves over 3,400 seniors, adults and children across 37 communities and provides homebuyer education and financial capabilities services to more than 400 families annually through its Homeownership Center.

Over the next three years, DHIC is scheduled to deliver more than 800 affordable new or rehabilitated units to the marketplace, and the sustained funding support from NeighborWorks® America and other federal programs will allow us to keep this commitment to our community.

DHIC depends on local government, state, and federal investments, working in tandem with private financing to make home a reality for seniors on fixed incomes, individuals of low- to moderate-wealth, and the modest-income workforce such as veterans, first-responders, health aides, teacher assistants, police officers, and food service workers.

Call to Action

We encourage our friends in North Carolina to call Senators Thom Tillis: (202) 224-6342 and Richard Burr: (202) 224-3154, as well as your local representative, and:

• Ask them to reject the program and agency cuts in the White House proposal and support HOME and CDBG, and funding for NeighborWorks® America;
• Ask these representatives to reach out to the THUD appropriation committee staff with a show of support;
• Let them know that these programs are vital to providing adequate, affordable housing in Wake County and across all communities in North Carolina.

Together, we can encourage Congress to continue supporting the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, the CDBG program, and NeighborWorks® America.  These programs are critical at bringing opportunity and public-private investment to North Carolina.