North Carolina
NC Housing Finance Agency awarded $8M federal grant to secure housing for people with disabilities • NC Newsline
The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency (NCHFA) is one of 18 state housing agencies that recently received an award from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to secure affordable housing for people with disabilities. NCHFA will receive nearly $8 million to help people with disabilities pay for affordable, safe housing. The agency will spend the money on 225 housing units in the form of rental assistance.
The awards may be used to address long-term housing security and affordability issues within existing, new or renovated multifamily developments. Agencies will will work with Medicaid and/or state health and human services agencies to connect tenants with community-based support services.
“Adults with disabilities often face significant barriers in securing a safe and stable place to live,” Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner Julia Gordon said in a statement. “These awards create opportunities for more housing that’s available, accessible, and inclusive.”
Funding for the grants come from HUD’s Section 811 Project Rental Assistance for Persons with Disabilities program.
“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, we are committed to removing barriers to housing and ensuring that everyone has access to an accessible, quality, and affordable home that meets their needs,” said HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman. “Today’s [August 14] awards will support Americans with disabilities by both creating affordable housing and expanding crucial support services.”
Scott Farmer, executive director of NCHFA said his agency applied for the Section 811 award in partnership with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
“Our intent with the plan we submitted to HUD, we’re going to utilize this as rental assistance for units that are set aside within some of our recently funded or to be funded Housing Credit property,” Farmer said. “With our tax credit program, we’re already setting aside 10% of all of the units for persons with disabilities through what we call the Targeting [Housing] Program.”
The state’s Targeting Housing Program to which Farmer referred is a supportive housing program for people who are very low income and disabled and in need of affordable housing. The program is a partnership between NCHFA and NCDHHS in collaboration with owners, property management and service provider agencies.
Each year, 10% of all the rental apartments that are developed using the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) are reserved to allow people with disabilities to apply to live in them. Under the housing tax credit program, developers are awarded tax credits in exchange for agreeing to maintain the property as affordable housing for a minimum of 30 years.
Farmer said the state funded rental assistance program administered through NCDHSS doesn’t meet all of the needs.
“It’s not enough,” Farmer said. “With rents escalating and an increase in demand for units overall, but especially for those at the lowest incomes and those with different disabilities, there needs to be additional resources. So, when this federal resource popped up, we applied for it.”
The agency received a Section 811 award in 2019, Farmer said, but did not receive it until January 2024 due to the pandemic and other delays.
“We were getting ready to implement those funds [from 2019] while we were applying for this second round,” Farmer said.
NC Newsline recently reported that the N.C. Department of Health & Human Services Strategic Housing Plan published in March 2023 calls for the agency to support the “creation of 3,500 PSH [permanent supportive housing] opportunities for people with disabilities through new construction and rehabilitation of existing properties.
“Research shows that PSH is effective for those with more severe disabilities and complex needs — including people with severe mental illness, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), people impacted by substance use and substance use disorder, those experiencing chronic homelessness, and people exiting institutions,” the strategic housing plan said.
The research also shows that such housing is cost effective for people with co-occurring conditions who are experiencing homelessness and frequently use costly emergency and institutional services, the plan says. And overall, PSH results in positive outcomes on health, including behavioral health, as well as overall housing stability, according to the plan.
A man is dead from a crash on Friday on
Interstate 40 in Johnston County.
According to the North Carolina State
Highway Patrol, the crash happened just before 4:30 p.m. on I-40 at the I-95 ramp. The collision involved an SUV and
a pickup truck.
Troopers said the pickup truck
appeared to have been sideswiped and overturned. The driver of the pickup truck
died at the scene.
The ramp from I-95 southbound to I-40 eastbound was closed for about 90 minutes. It has since reopened.
Troopers have not released the
names of anyone involved, nor the condition of the other driver.
WRAL News is working to learn more.
Do you have a favorite grocery store? According to an online food magazine, one grocery store reigns supreme as the best in North Carolina. With almost a century’s worth of history in the state, this store has since become a household name.
The Wilmington area is home to dozens and dozens of grocery stores, including several major brands, and opinions can certainly widely on which is the best place to do your weekly shopping
Online food publication loveFOOD.com recently published a list of the best grocery store in each U.S. state, with stores ranging from big chain superstores to local markets. When it came to North Carolina, LoveFOOD said Harris Teeter was the best grocery store in the state.
Hot food and good rewards
While some states had specific locations on the list, loveFOOD put the entire Harris Teeter chain for North Carolina.
LoveFOOD cited a handful of qualities that put Harris Teeter over the top. For one, the article highlighted the selection of prepared foods offered at Harris Teeter. Alongside the traditional hot bar, Harris Teeter also has pizza, sushi, sandwiches and more. LoveFOOD also gave kudos to what the article called a “thoughtfully curated wine selection.”
Finally, Harris Teeter’s reward system got special attention. Alongside access to weekly sales on groceries, the reward system lets customers earn Fuel Points that can be used to get up to $1 off per gallon at Harris Teeter gas stations.
How to save money on groceries
Save money on groceries with these smart hacks.
Problem Solved
A North Carolina store
According to Harris Teeter’s website, W.T. Harris originally founded Harris Food Store in Charlotte in 1936. A few years later, Willis and Paul Teeter opened Teeter’s Food Mart in Mooresville. In 1960, the two stores merged into Harris Teeter.
Today, Harris Teeter has over 250 stores across seven southern states and Washington, D.C, though the store is still based in North Carolina. Headquarters are located in the town of Matthews, and Harris Teeter operates distribution centers out of Greensboro and Indian Trail. The chain employees 35,000 employees across the country.
Charlie Kingree is the trending topics and Pender County reporter for the StarNews. He can be reached at ckingree@usatodayco.com.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Two proposed changes to North Carolina’s tax laws are now headed to voters in November after lawmakers approved both constitutional amendments this week.
Western North Carolina political science professor Dr. Chris Cooper says both amendments involve taxes, but in different ways.
“Part of the fight here is essentially about how much people should be taxed, but some of it is also about local government power and how much power should local governments have to be able to levy the higher property taxes to fulfill their needs,” Cooper said.
The first amendment seeks to permanently cap the state’s income tax rate at 3.5%, which Republican state leaders say is necessary.
“Now we’re at a point where we’ve proven that we are able to cut and we are still able to generate revenue by the business policies that we’ve had,” Rep. Mark Pless said.
NEW BILL COULD PUT CANNABIS DECRIMINALIZATION ON 2026 BALLOT IN NORTH CAROLINA
Democratic leaders, however, argue that the change would limit the state’s ability to raise revenue.
“If we’re saying that constitutionally the legislature can never raise the personal income tax above 3.5 percent, then we are necessarily limiting our ability to generate revenue to meet the needs of our growing state,” Senator Julie Mayfield said.
The second proposal focuses on property taxes and would limit how much local governments can increase them.
Democrats say the cap could reduce funding for schools, disaster response and local government services.
“Property taxes are the primary funder for local governments and the services they provide, and if we start limiting their ability to increase that revenue, again, to match their increasing needs, then communities are going to suffer, and public services are going to suffer,” Mayfield said.
ASHEVILLE PROPOSES PROPERTY TAX RATE INCREASE TO CLOSE $8.9M BUDGET GAP
Republicans counter that voters should have a direct say in how tax policy is set.
“Members on the other side of the aisle wanted to say that it was going to raise gas, it was going to raise groceries, it was going to cause rent to go up, and that’s just not feasible. Reducing the income tax is only going to reduce the amount they pay for government services,” Pless said.
Some political observers also say the amendments are part of a broader political strategy ahead of the election.
“These are tools to turn out more conservative voters in a midterm election where the Republicans are worried that their voters aren’t going to turn out. That is the motivation behind all of these,” Mayfield said.
Political experts say these likely won’t be the only amendments on the ballot, and more could be placed before voters in November.
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