Documenting Poverty, Economic Distress and Challenge in North Carolina

The term poverty in and of itself does not fully describe the hardship faced by individuals surviving in it. The lack of safe and quality housing, inadequate education, choosing between health insurance and food, these are some of what persons living in poverty manage on a daily basis. UNC Center for Poverty, Work and Opportunity recently published a study with funding from Z Smith Reynolds Foundation titled Documenting Poverty, Economic Distress and Challenge in North Carolina. This report describes the history of economic decline that characterized North Carolina for so many years. It then moves to the great strides North Carolina has made in education and the tremendous population growth and demographic changes North Carolina has experienced. However, it asserts that there is still much to be done.

Most of the population and economic growth in North Carolina has occurred in metropolitan centers like Charlotte, the Triangle and Triad. Because of this, when people think of poor areas in the state, they naturally think of rural North Carolina. However, that is not completely true. According to the Center’s report, rural areas in North Carolina have witnessed, “…persistent patterns of economic distress. But the state’s poorest census tracts are more likely to be located in large metropolitan areas that are, otherwise, on average, more prosperous. These communities have generally higher poverty, child poverty, and unemployment rates, and lower high school graduation, average income, and homeownership rates, than their rural counterparts.” There are concentrations of poverty within our cities that are just as, if not more, economically devastated as rural counties.

As the study points out, this is the danger with looking at a whole county for poverty figures. Take Wake County for example, the Area Median Income (AMI) is $79,000 a year. But, some segments of Wake County have an average income of less than $27,000 a year. Looking at a county as a whole for poverty indicators hides the pockets of poverty within the county that need services. Instead, counties should be broken up into smaller districts to analyze poverty rates.

When looking into possible interventions, there should be both person-based and place-based economic strategies used to decrease poverty rates. Person-based strategies are programs similar to Section 8 and public housing; whereas, place-based strategies include community development using multi-faceted approaches including economic incentives to developers.

North Carolina has a unique arrangement of needs: rural areas with patterns of economic distress, urban concentrations of poverty, and communities that are experiencing situational poverty due to the economic downturn. We must be willing to provide services unique to the need and location. North Carolina has made impressive steps forward. Using some of the tactics outlined in this report and others, we can help our beloved state continue to grow and thrive.

To read the full study, click here.

Call to Action: Ask House Committee to Vote Yes on Homeowner and Homebuyer Protection Act

Please act today to protect homeowners and homebuyers from predatory real estate practices!


The Issue:

Next Tuesday, May 25th, the NC House Committee on Financial Institutions will meet to discuss SB1015, The Homeowner and Homebuyer Protection Act, sponsored by Senator Josh Stein. This bill would prohibit foreclosure rescue scams and create reasonable regulation and standards for option to purchase or “rent to own” contracts and contracts for deeds. These scams and unscrupulous real estate transactions are used to exploit and manipulate families struggling to pay a home loan or families who are having trouble obtaining a loan to purchase a home.

Please act today!

Contact the Speaker of the House and members of the House Financial Institutions Committee and urge them to vote YES on SB1015 next Tuesday.

Speaker Joe Hackney, Joe.Hackney@ncleg.net, 919-733-3451 (Chatham, Moore, Orange)
Rep. Hugh Holliman, Chair, Hugh.Holliman@ncleg.net, 919-715-0873 (Davidson)
Rep. Harold Brubaker, Vice-Chair, Harold.Brubaker@ncleg.net, 919-715-4946 (Randolph)
Rep. Becky Carney, Vice-Chair, Becky.Carney@ncleg.net, 919-733-5827 (Mecklenburg)
Rep. Larry Hall, Vice-Chair, Larry.Hall@ncleg.net, 919-733-5872 (Durham)
Rep. Arthur Williams, Vice-Chair, Arthur.Williams@ncleg.net, 919-733-5906 (Beaufort, Pitt)
Rep. Tricia Cotham, Tricia.Cotham@ncleg.net, 919-715-0706 (Mecklenburg)
Rep. Jerry Dockham, Jerry.Dockham@ncleg.net, 919-715-2526 (Davidson)
Rep. Beverly Earle, Beverly.Earle@ncleg.net, 919-715-2530 (Mecklenburg)
Rep. Pryor Gibson, Pryor.Gibson@ncleg.net, 919-715-3007 (Anson, Union)
Rep. Rick Glazier, Rick.Glazier@ncleg.net, 919-733-5601 (Cumberland)
Rep. Robert Grady, Robert.Grady@ncleg.net, 919-715-9644 (Onslow)
Rep. Maggie Jeffus, Maggie.Jeffus@ncleg.net, 919-733-5191 (Guilford)
Rep. Daniel McComas, Danny.McComas@ncleg.net, 919-733-5786 (New Hanover)
Rep. Wil Neumann, Wil.Neumann@ncleg.net, 919-733-5868 (Gaston)
Rep. Johnathan Rhyne, Johnathan.Rhyne@ncleg.net, 919-733-5782 (Lincoln)
Rep. Mitchell Setzer, Mitchell.Setzer@ncleg.net, 919-733-4948 (Catawba, Iredell)
Rep. Tim Spear, Tim.Spear@ncleg.net, 919-715-3029 (Chowan, Dare, Hyde, Washington)
Rep. Thom Tillis, Thom.Tillis@ncleg.net, 919-733-5828 (Mecklenburg)
Rep. William Wainwright, William.Wainwright@ncleg.net, 919-733-5995 (Craven, Lenoir)

The Ask

In these challenging economic times, as many North Carolinians face lost jobs and the threat of foreclosure, we must make sure that struggling homeowners and aspiring homebuyers are protected from predatory real estate practices. Vote yes on the Homeowner and Homebuyer Protection Act SB1015 to protect the economic well-being of your community and your constituents.

***

Please feel free to share your stories regarding these real estate practices with the committee members as well.


Thank you for contacting these Committee members. If you have any questions, please contact me at cruff@nchousing.org or 919-827-4496.

In appreciation,

Carley Ruff

Policy and Outreach Coordinator
North Carolina Housing Coalition
Educating and Advocating for Change
www.nchousing.org

Call your Senator and Representative and ask them to fund NHTF!

Thanks to all of you who signed on to the national letter asking Congress to fund the National Housing Trust Fund. The National Housing Trust Fund campaign hand-delivered its national sign-on letter urging immediate NHTF funding to every Senator and Representative during the week of May 10. The letter was signed by more than 2,250 organizations representing each of the 435 Congressional districts as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico -- a scope that is considered unprecedented in federal housing advocacy!

Now, we expect that funding for the National Housing Trust Fund could be considered by Congress THIS WEEK. Please take one more step to ensure the National Housing Trust Fund becomes a reality.

Call 877-210-5351, the toll-free number for the Congressional switchboard, and ask to be connected your Senators' offices. (To find your Members of Congress, click here.) Once connected, please ask for the housing staff person and relay the following message:

Our community needs a National Housing Trust Fund to help build, rehabilitate and preserve housing for people with the lowest incomes. I understand that H.R. 4213, the tax extender bill, is expected to include $1 billion for the initial NHTF funding and $65 million for project-based vouchers to support NHTF homes. Please work to ensure that this much-needed funding for the National Housing Trust Fund is included in the bill, and please support H.R. 4213 when it comes up for a vote.

After calling your Senators, call your Representative with the same message.

******

Details

Funding for the National Housing Trust Fund is expected to be included in H.R. 4213, the American Jobs, Closing Tax Loopholes, and Preventing Outsourcing Act, which will be brought to the floor of the House of Representatives during the week of May 17. The bill will include $1 billion as the initial NHTF capitalization and $65 million for project-based vouchers to be coupled with capital grants. If funded at this level, the NHTF could provide an additional $23 million to support the development of affordable housing in North Carolina in 2011.

The Senate could take up the bill this week as well; if not, the Senate is expected to complete the bill before the Memorial Day recess.

For More Information

Need to learn more about the National Housing Trust Fund before signing on? Click here for background information. To see the NHTF sign-on letter and list of signatories, click here. Organizations can continue to sign the letter at www.nlihc.org/sign/.

Thank you for your support of affordable housing and the NC Housing Coalition.

Sincerely,

Carley Ruff

Policy and Outreach Coordinator
North Carolina Housing Coalition
Educating and Advocating for Change
www.nchousing.org

Cars, Employment and Homes

The Brookings Institute just released a report titled The State of Metropolitan America; which discusses the changes happening in cities across America related to commuting, income and poverty, work, households and family, among others. North Carolina has been growing rapidly. The population is expected to double by 2020. This report shed light on an interesting perspective of how all of this growth affects individuals and families’ quality of life.

The current trend to manage growth has been to expand or ‘sprawl’ outward away from city centers like Raleigh, Charlotte, and the Triad. However, with the lack of convenient public transportation, this has led to an increase in one-driver commuting. The Brookings Institute found that the Triad and Charlotte areas had the largest increase in one-driver commuters in North Carolina, an increase of between 1 and 5.3% between 2000 and 2008. Not only does the rise in one-driver commuting affect the environment with the increase in carbon gases emitted into the atmosphere, but it impacts the quality of life of residents. Long commutes mean less time spent with family and friends before and after work. In addition, long commutes require more money to maintain upkeep on vehicles, car payments, and gas.

There are some possible solutions that would decrease extensive commutes. Municipalities should adopt smarter growth patterns when planning for new development. By smarter growth, we mean more ‘compact’ communities where housing, transportation; jobs and recreational activities are all combined to make more accessible districts. HUD (US Department of Housing and Urban Development) has caught on to this idea and recently launched the Partnership for Sustainable Communities with collaboration from DOT (Department of Transportation) and EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). This new interagency partnership will funnel federal resources and support local planning through the Office of Sustainable Communities. The office’s mission is to create strong communities by connecting housing to employment, fostering local innovation, and contributing to a clean energy economy. We believe this is a great step forward and continue to support the coordination of these efforts.

To read the full report by the Brookings Institute, click here.

To Join Us, Become a Member and receive more housing related updates, click here.

Housing Matters 5/11/2010

Dear Supporter,

This week, the “short session” of the NC General Assembly opens. The short session is designed to make adjustments to the budget that was passed the previous year and to handle bills that passed through either the House or the Senate. This year, legislators will be facing another budget shortfall of nearly $1 billion.

A few weeks ago, Gov. Perdue released her budget that attempted to address many of the challenges the state is facing while bringing the overall budget into balance. We were pleased to see no cuts to housing programs, but know that there were many painful cuts to services needed by low-income and vulnerable populations.

For this reason, we will again play an active role in the Together NC coalition. This coalition encourages legislators to create a budget that can more efficiently and effectively meet the needs of the state’s residents in a balanced approach of cuts and revenue reforms. For more information on Together NC, click here.

Two non-budget related efforts we will be working on are the continued funding for the Commissioner of Banks’ Foreclosure Prevention Programs (which included funding for housing counseling organizations) and a Homebuyer/Homeowner Protection Act that is led by Sen. Josh Stein (Wake). More information on these efforts will follow in future Housing Matters.

We are especially pleased that Kris Fountain, the new director of the NC Association of Housing Counselors will be working out of our office while he is in Raleigh to advocate on housing counseling issues. We look forward to taking a lead role with Kris to generate more funding for better consumer protections related to home buying and the foreclosure process.

Please visit the legislative update section below for the latest news out of the General Assembly and to see our NC Legislative Agenda.

NC Housing News

On May 28th, I will be on a panel at the NC Community Development Conference to talk about the legislation that passed last year making affordable housing a protected class under the NC Fair Housing Act. This conference brings together Community Development departments of local governments from across the state. We are hoping to educate local governments on why they need to be more proactive on affordable housing in their communities and less discriminatory in working against these efforts.

The Brookings Institute has released a new report on the nation’s metropolitan regions that is an interesting read for those involved in affordable housing. A news article on the report is included in this issue. The report discusses several NC regions and highlights the need for more affordable housing in areas where jobs are being created as well as transit centers that are created to manage growth. The report is available on their website for free download.


Read our Blog and “Friend” Us!
Please continue to check out our blog and Facebook page. Our staff will be using these two pages as a way to get current information out to you on a daily basis. Please visit nchousing.blogspot.com and give us your thoughts. Our Facebook page is located here.

Thanks for all that you do and your continued support.

Sincerely,

Chris Estes
Executive Director

To receive this and other housing related updates become a member at our website!