National Community Development Week is April 22-26 and showcases the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and the HOME Investment Partnership (HOME) programs administered by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The HOME program, in particular, is an important source of funding for Orange County and the towns of Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and Hillsborough to address the critical need to create and retain affordable housing for low and moderate income households. The County and the three municipalities collaborate regularly and have come together to form the Orange County HOME Consortium, which in the past five years has awarded an average of $332,920 annually to provide such housing services as acquisition and rehabilitation of property for affordable rental housing, homeowner repairs and homebuyer and second mortgage assistance.
Funds are awarded each year to non-profit housing providers active in the community, including CASA, Habitat for Humanity, Rebuilding Together of the Triangle, EmPOWERment, Inc., Community Home Trust, and Orange County Housing and Community Development Department, to name a few. Without the collaboration of the local jurisdictions, Orange County and the non-profit community partners, the housing needs of low and moderate income persons and families could not be addressed.
Community Development Week (CD Week) is important because it acknowledges the importance of federal funding and leveraging local resources to create and preserve safe, decent and affordable housing for low-income persons and families. In fact, CD Week always coincides with the Congressional spring recess in order to give local officials and citizens the opportunity to reinforce the importance of affordable housing to its Congressional delegation.
Market forces are one of the largest—if not the largest—obstacle to retain and expand a community’s inventory of affordable housing. Successfully counteracting these forces requires federal programs like HOME and CDBG.
In observance of National Community Development Week, Orange County has placed exhbits at the Chapel Hill and Orange County Library Main Branches. So come on back to the County’s website throughout the week and/or stop by the libraries and pick up a listing of articles, movies and books that will provide insight into community development and affordable housing issues, as well as spark conversation and creative thinking that we hope you would share with us at Shampton@orangecountync.gov.
For more information
Please visit this page on our website for more information, including links to articles and lists of books and movies on the topic.