By Randy Foster, news@grahamstar.com
Southwestern North Carolina HOME Consortium awarded grants in western North Carolina in August to help replenish the inventory of affordable housing stretched thin over the last year.
Three grants were awarded affecting North Carolina’s westernmost four counties: $45,000 to Four Square Community Action Inc., to help landlords repair and upgrade their properties, to make them become – or remain eligible – for U.S. Health & Urban Development vouchers; $125,000 to Robbinsville High School, to kick-start construction at Azalea Hill, an affordable housing project of the Graham County Rural Development Authority; and $43,000 to help residents in Macon County obtain or retain housing.
Southwestern North Carolina HOME Consortium is a group of governments coming together to receive Home Investment Partnerships Program funds from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development.
The consortium’s Board of Directors met in August and approved the funds.
Other grants included $110,000 to develop 10 homes for home ownership in Maggie Valley, $300,000 to develop 84 new rental housing units in Waynesville and $52,000 for operating costs for Haywood Pathway.
Four Square Community Action is a nonprofit based in Andrews that operates several programs aimed at low-income individuals and families in Cherokee, Clay, Graham and Swain counties.
Among the programs under its umbrella, Four Square manages the HUD Section 8 rental housing assistance payment program. The program provides rental assistance on a sliding scale, giving eligible recipients choices where to live and landlords an assurance that rent will be paid.
Sue Lynn Ledford, Four Square’s executive director and HUD director in the four-county region, said resources are readily available for individuals in need. Available rental housing is the problem, not funding.
The HUD-eligible housing inventory in the four-county region has declined by 7 percent over the past year, from 383 in August 2021 to 348 in August 2022, according to Four Square figures.
In the region, declines were noted in Graham (an 8 percent decline), Clay (4 percent) and Swain (3 percent). In Cherokee County – which is divided between Andrews and Murphy – Murphy has seen a 26 percent decline.
Throughout Four Square’s region, only Andrews has seen improvement, with a 16-percent increase. Declining housing stock is caused by many factors, such as a house being sold or no longer rented, or a house falling below health and safety standards.
HUD requires houses in its Section 8 program to meet its health and safety standards, and the Southwestern Commission grant will enable Four Square to help landlords who have been struggling to maintain their properties. It could also help prospective landlords to bring properties up to HUD standards and be added to the housing inventory.
The $45,000 grant will be divided among the four counties and prioritized based on need, Ledford said.
Some of the money might be used for basic repairs, and some may be used to retrofit a property to be wheelchair accessible, for example. Landlords will be required to keep rentals available for Section 8 housing for at least two years if they receive money from the grant.
Ledford said her goals are to encourage everyone who is qualified for services to apply, and for landlords to add rental units and to maintain the units they have.
Four Square administers a number of programs intended to keep people in their homes. In addition to HUD Section 8, Four Square operates Community Services Block Grant Program, Weatherization Assistance Program, Urgent Repair Program, and Essential Single Family Rehabilitation. Four Square also operates the Head Start program in the four-county region.
For details about Four Square, visit foursquarecommunityactioninc.com or call 828-321-4475.