What We Do
The Affordable Housing Coalition of Southestern NC supports the creation of affordable housing units and homeownership opportunities aimed at low-income households and people with disabilities.
What is Affordable Housing?
The generally accepted definition of affordability is for a household to pay no more than 30 percent of its annual income on housing. Families who pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing are considered cost burdened and may have difficulty affording necessities such as food, clothing, transportation and medical care. An estimated 12 million renter and homeowner households now pay more than 50 percent of their annual incomes for housing, and a family with one full-time worker earning the minimum wage cannot afford the local fair-market rent for a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the United States. (This definition provided by hud.gov).
The greater Wilmington area has an urgent need for affordable housing. Increasing numbers of low-income and disabled individuals and families do not have access to quality housing that is within their economic means.
To afford a modest two-bedroom apartment, residents in our area must earn about $13 an hour. In a local economy dominated by low-paying service industry jobs, many people fall short of the region's Living Wage and Housing Wage, making it difficult for them to obtain and maintain housing stability. People with disabilities who depend on Supplemental Security or Social Security income face even greater obstacles to obtaining affordable housing.
For more about our region's Housing Wage, and for details on housing affordability in our area compared to that of other state and national jurisdictions, see "Out of Reach," the comprehensive annual report published by the National Low Income Housing Coalition: http://www.nlihc.org/oor/oor2009/.
What is Advocacy?
 Advocacy refers to work done on behalf of the rights of citizens to bring about improvements for the entire community. As advocates for affordable housing, a lot of our work involves defining the extent of the problem in our region, determining the necessary actions, and sharing the story with others in an effort to gain support. Advocacy efforts include
- Articulating concrete strategies which produce and sustain affordable housing
- Gathering the support needed to reach goals
- Educating elected officials—at the local, state, and national level—on the scope of the affordable housing crisis and working together to identify and implement effective solutions
- Using community outreach efforts to defy stereotypes and dispel myths about affordable housing
The NC Housing Coalition Housing Policy Summit
This annual, one-day event is designed to bring researchers, developers, advocates, legislators and lenders together to discuss the current state of North Carolina's affordable housing crisis, get updated on available tools and funding (including Federal Stimulus Package funds), and to hear about important recommendations for Congress and the General Assembly about what more is needed to increase the availability of affordable housing for low-income and disabled individuals and families.
Contact Us: info@ahcsenc.com
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