justice
After 6 years (term limits!) of service with the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness Leadership Team, the last few as chair, my run ends with 2018. Throughout the month of December I’ve been curating a series of tweets talking about the state of homelessness in Orange County and nationally and the work that we and our partners are doing to make homelessness “rare, brief, and one-time.”
You can take a look at the full twitter archive here to learn about our partners, our successes, our needs, and ways you can help end homelessness in Orange County.
I recently filled out the INDY Candidate Questionnaire and I wanted to go ahead and start sharing my answers. When they asked what I would do to build a just community in the Triangle, this is how I responded:
This is a follow-up to several earlier posts about Section 8 Housing in Orange County. Read them first for background.
On behalf of the Chapel Hill/Carrboro Just Housing Coalition, my assistant and I just talked to a lawyer with Justice NC, who confirmed that the reduction in HUD funding due to the federal sequestration is going to result in lower voucher values for Section 8 recipients.
Chapel Hill/Carrboro Just Housing Coalition is an informal alliance that is forming to work against injustice and for affordable housing in our community.
We are seeking organizations, citizens, and elected officials in the Chapel Hill - Carrboro area concerned about equitable and just living options and wages for all residents of our community.
Read more about the "tsunami" of events that is creating a housing crisis in our community.
If you would like to formally join our coalition, we would love to have you on board. You are welcome to attend our upcoming meeting, or stay tuned for a community petition and call to action.
Participating organizations: Human Rights Center of Chapel Hill & Carrboro; Mutual Aid Carrboro; Real Advocates Now Emerging (RANE) of Orange, Person and Chatham Counties; Carolina Coalition for Disability Justice
Date:
Friday, August 9, 2013 - 3:30pm to 4:30pm
Location:
Human Rights Center, 107 Barnes Street, Carrboro, NC
I am actively seeking help to address this problem. As I wrote before, we are looking at the possibility a lot of newly homeless folk in Orange County. The best information I have says that the GSC decision to kick people out violates HUD, and we need to file a complaint. I don't know how to do this, but if you do, or know someone who can help, please contact me, or come to the meeting on August 2nd at the Human Rights Center in Carrboro at 4pm.
Jose knows someone at the HUD office in Raleigh, and today I talked with two people in the national office. They said that we have grounds for filling a report.. Here is the exact wording -
"Housing discrimination based on your race, color, national origin, religion, sex, family status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability is illegal by federal law. If you have been trying to buy or rent a home or apartment and you believe your rights have been violated, you can file a fair housing complaint."
Both people with whom I spoke interpreted "national origins" to mean that non-U.S. citizens cannot be discriminated against.
Multiple strains on Section 8 housing are creating major worry for those who depend on affordable housing in Orange County.
The recent floods are perhaps receiving the most news coverage.
However, General Service Corporation, which according to the Chapel Hill News, owns nine apartment complexes in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, recently announced that it will no longer accept rent vouchers. This means that as leases run out in the coming months, low income citizens will be thrown into housing crisis. With so little affordable housing available already, GSC's announcment means that the properties available to low-income renters will be even more sparse and hard to come by.
Additionally, a letter from Tara Fikes, Orange County Housing Director, that went out to HUD recipients this past week cited the federal sequestration as a strain on local budgets. "Here in Orange County, this will mean a reduction of more than $250,000 in how much our Section 8 program will have available to pay in rental assistance," the letter stated.
On Tuesday, January 10, 2012, Occupy Chapel Hill/Carrboro will make history by becoming one of the very few, longstanding Occupy encampments in the country to peacefully and voluntarily transition to a new phase in its evolution.
Members of OCHC are planning a special day in celebration of the power and potential of the 99% movement. And they have invited the whole community. That means YOU!!
The day’s events will kick off at 3 p.m. with taking down tents and cleanup of the Peace and Justice Plaza, 179 E. Franklin St., Chapel Hill. Press are welcome to attend. This will be followed by a press conference at 4:30 p.m., at which Occupiers will present plans for the future. A General Assembly will be held at 6 p.m. at the Plaza.
Following the General Assembly, OCHC will be hosting a dance party at the Plaza, starting at about 8 p.m.
OCHC’s immediate plans for its evolution include: a Plaza presence consisting of General Assemblies, teach-ins, outreach, discussion circles, and events; roving encampments; participation in Occupy the Courts on January 20; and continuing active support for The Chapel Hill Carrboro Human Rights Center.
Date:
Sunday, December 5, 2010 - 12:30pm
Location:
Community Church Chapel Hill Unitarian Universalist, 506 Purefoy Rd.
Some might revel in their underage drinking exploits, but I suspect UNC-Chapel Hill tennis player Chris Kearney never expected his life to take the detour it looks like it will take.
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