HOUSING COLLABORATIVE ANNOUNCED AS OFFICIAL A HOME FOR ALL PARTNER
Housing Collaborative has been named an official partner of the A Home For All initiative, led and managed by United Way of Greater Charlotte. The partnership focuses on increasing affordable housing opportunities for the Charlotte community by launching a large-scale campaign to recruit more property providers through a combination of recruitment and retention incentives.
A Home For All is a community-wide initiative uniting over 170 partners to address the complex systemic issue of homelessness. Their efforts aim to support the estimated 3,000 unsheltered individuals in Mecklenburg County, where an additional 25,442 housing units are needed for those earning 30% or less of the area median income. There are four pillars inside the framework of A Home For All and this partnership is focused on the upstream priority of increasing production of additional affordable housing units. This $1.5 million investment aims to centralize recruitment and retention of property providers and to increase the number of property providers who will accept households with subsidies and other housing barriers through the use of dedicated incentive fundings. The investment builds on the work Housing Collaborative already does with a goal of securing 600 new units in Year 1.
The funds invested in this partnership by the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County will go toward Housing Collaborative’s efforts:
- Housing Provider Recruitment and Retention: dedicated funding source for incentives regardless of tenant subsidy or program type. Offer housing provider incentives and risk mitigation support funds, and marketing to support Housing Collaborative’s efforts of reaching this goal.
- Assistance for Households: create unit utilization workflows, quickly pay application fees, facilitate lease-up and assist with lease renewals as needed.
- Data Reporting and Impact Measurement: create a public dashboard, administer surveys, develop program guidelines, and adhere to monthly reporting requirements to measure success.
“We’ve been committed to expanding access to housing for twenty-five years and we’re pleased to have been selected as an agency partner tasked with meeting the A Home For All goals,” said Housing Collaborative CEO Tara Peele. “The affordable housing shortage is a complex problem requiring multifaceted solutions. Our specialty is facilitating long-term, supportive partnerships with property providers who will work with us to offer stable housing for our neighbors in need. In 2023, we brought on 108 new housing provider partners and helped place over 300 households, and the goal of this partnership is to double that outcome. We’re so excited to have the United Way of Greater Charlotte as well as the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County behind us so we can expand our efforts, see even more impact and continue to change the narrative of housing in our city.”
“United Way is proud to announce the partnership with Housing Collaborative and to begin the implementation of the Property Provider Recruitment and Retention initiative,” said United Way of Greater Charlotte’s Interim President & CEO Kathryn Firmin Sellers. “Housing Collaborative’s work here will create more affordable housing opportunities which builds toward our larger effort of ending homelessness. This work is key to achieving the priorities outlined in A Home for All.”
For more information about this partnership or the A Home For All program, please visit ahomeforallmeck.org.
Relevant Resources
About A Home For All
A Home For All, led by United Way of Greater Charlotte, is a community-wide initiative that addresses all aspects of housing instability and homelessness to ensure every individual and family has a stable roof over their head.
About Housing Collaborative
Housing Collaborative is a Charlotte-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and second chance employer whose mission is to make affordable housing easier to navigate. Since its founding as Socialserve in 1999, the organization has evolved and expanded its services but remained steadfast in its commitment to facilitating access to housing. More info: https://housingcollab.org/.
About United Way of Greater Charlotte
United Way of Greater Charlotte uses collective giving to advance economic mobility and racial equity, primarily through neighborhood-based, grassroots and responsive solutions. For more information, please visit www.unitedwaygreaterCLT.org.