An Enduring Problem
When housing is too expensive, families must sacrifice other necessities like groceries, healthcare, education and transportation. Imagine deciding between paying rent or buying food or fixing the car you need to get to work every day.
Affordable housing is a vital key to economic mobility. Children perform better in school and are more likely to go to college. Neighborhoods are more cohesive, tax revenues increase and employers see less turnover. When neighborhoods have a variety of diverse, affordable housing options, it makes our communities stronger and helps all of us thrive.
Affordable housing is not a new issue, but it is growing increasingly urgent. The need is magnified by rising home prices, a widening income gap and over a decade of constricted supply. Housing issues are complex and deeply rooted in problematic systems that have historically excluded people from accessing resources and building wealth. If we do nothing, these variables will continue to compound, leaving even more people on the margins.
These complex problems demand new, thoughtful solutions. Habitat for Humanity of Wake County has a long history of providing affordable housing for our community. Building on that foundation, we are rising to meet these new challenges with creativity and determination.
Our three goals:
The strategies we'll use to get there:
The outcomes we're striving for:
At Habitat Wake, we recognize that we cannot build ourselves out of this affordable housing crisis. While new construction will always be at the heart of our mission, we are committed to finding new ways to serve people across the spectrum of housing needs. This includes preserving existing housing stock, incorporating rental and mixed-income options into our model and advocating for anti-displacement policies that enable families to stay in their homes.
As construction costs rise and the housing market grows more competitive, Habitat Wake works to ensure we can still house as many people as possible.
In order to continue to meet the need in our community, Habitat Wake will create a 6-year inventory of lots acquired or developed and serve more than 450 families through new construction or home preservation—an increase of 30 percent by 2027. We will also explore partnerships across geographical service areas to provide more housing for the community and increase long-term affordability with anti-displacement strategies.
Habitat Wake works with thousands of people a year on the build site, in the ReStores and through community events. The tangible work we do building and preserving homes helps us connect people to the larger issue of affordable housing, and our advocacy work gives our supporters an avenue to work for more systemic change.
Advocacy also supports key aspects of Habitat's operations by increasing funding for affordable housing at all levels of government, bringing awareness to our mission, and more.
Our goal is to use our ability to convene people to continue to build trust within the community mobilize in support of housing affordability.
Strategies in Action
Direct & Systemic Wins: Because of our advocacy team’s work with the City of Raleigh, homeowners at Old Poole Place will have direct access to a nearby transit hub, as well as access to down payment assistance. At a higher level, we work with local municipalities to advocate for lower property taxes in an effort to keep housing affordable long term.
Varied housing types: Using different home types like semi-attached townhomes (above) helps us build more densely and serve people in a wider income range.
