Latest news with #HousingCoalition
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NC Housing Coalition joins nationwide challenge to AmeriCorps funding cuts
(Photo: AmeriCorps) The North Carolina Housing Coalition has joined a nationwide group of community organizations, individuals and unions in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's move to dismantle AmeriCorps, the nation's flagship civil service program. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on Monday. It seeks to block the administration's attempt to dismantle the program without congressional authorization. 'Our action is after receiving notice of the termination of our grant award and coming to the conclusion that it was incredibly important for us as a statewide coalition, as an organization who throughout our history, has kept in mind where the gaps are and how we can step into those gaps to serve communities across North Carolina,' said Samuel Gunter, the housing coalition's executive director. The Housing Coalition received termination letters late last month for two AmeriCorps VISTA members it had assigned to local housing counseling agencies across the state. The nonprofit estimates that 351 AmeriCorps members at 13 sites across the state were also terminated. Nationally, just under $400 million in AmeriCorps grants were cancelled, ending the services of more than 32,000 members, it reported. According to AmeriCorps, last year, more than 3,300 AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers and other participants worked to 'meet local needs, strengthen communities, and expand opportunity through national service in North Carolina.' AmeriCorps invested more than $27 million in federal funding into the state, the organization said. AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers served at more than 700 locations across North Carolina, including schools, food banks, homeless shelters, health clinics, youth centers, veterans' facilities, and other nonprofit and faith-based organizations, AmeriCorps said. Gunter, a Peace Corps and VISTA alumnus, said the service programs are transformative for communities and individuals who serve. 'We felt it was important to step up into that gap, not just on AmeriCorps but as we are seeing this trend for a number of federal resources,' Gunter said. The lawsuit against the Trump administration was brought by community organizations from across the nation, individual youth plaintiffs who participate in AmeriCorps and the AmeriCorps Employees Union, AFSCME Local 2027. It alleges that the Trump administration does not have unilateral power to cut or end the AmeriCorps grants and service programs, and that doing so would unlawfully deprive communities of critical services and opportunities provided through AmeriCorps, including education access, housing support, and youth mentorship. 'We are filing this lawsuit today to stand up to this illegal assault on the essential work we do,' Kelly Daly, AmeriCorps Employees Union AFSCME Local 2027 president, said in a news release. 'From providing mentors and educational support to students to rebuilding communities after disasters, AmeriCorps participants and other AmeriCorps grantees' programs form the backbone of public service, and our union members are proud to make that service possible.' As a result of the Trump administration's actions, Daly said families will 'go without homes. Kids will lose aftercare programming. Seniors will lose companion care, and our communities will suffer.' Over the last 30 years, the complaint explained, AmeriCorps has served hundreds of communities in all 50 states and U.S. territories. 'It has conserved lands for use by farmers, hunters, and hikers, provided after-school care to help students from all backgrounds succeed in school, and afforded medical care to seniors and others who might otherwise not have had treatment. All of this progress now hangs in the balance as Defendants work to dismantle the Agency,' the lawsuit said. Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, called the Trump administration's gutting of AmeriCorps 'unlawful and haphazard.' 'In their latest attempt to undermine the public service values that are core to our democracy, the Trump administration has gutted Americorps, which has a proven track record of supporting and improving communities across our nation — more than we can say about the policies of this administration,' Perryman said. The Housing Coalition also took note of the recent demobilization of AmeriCorps' National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) — a development that Gov. Josh Stein decried last month, which resulted in the loss of 52 NCCC members assisting with post-Helene cleanup. On April 23, Stein shared his frustration with the move in a post on X, writing: 'Since Hurricane Helene hit, Americorps NCCC teams have been on the ground in western NC delivering resources to victims, repairing homes, and leading volunteer efforts. The federal government is making a mistake taking them off the job. The people of NC need them to complete their mission.'
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Advocacy group calls on North Carolina's congressional delegates to fight for housing
A mixed-income housing project under construction in Durham. (Photo: Greg Childress) A North Carolina Housing Coalition petition urging the state's congressional delegation to protect federal housing funds has collected signatures more than 360 individuals and organizations opposed to President Trump's attempt to pause federal agency grants, loans and other financial assistance programs. The petition was drafted in response to a Jan. 27 Office of Management and Budget memorandum that purported halt federal funding to many housing and community development programs. A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order to stop the funding freeze. The housing coalition was scheduled to deliver the petition to North Carolina's congressional delegation Thursday. 'We really want to emphasize the importance of federal housing funds and how at risk they are,' Stephanie Watkins-Cruz, director of housing policy at the Housing Coalition, said on the organization's weekly housing call. 'The [Trump] administration, if they do not try to halt the distribution of the previously appropriated funds, we do expect there to be some drastic budget cuts once the continuing resolution ends in March.' Earlier this month, the Senate confirmed Scott Turner as secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which is responsible for national policy and programs to address the nation's housing needs. Housing advocates across the nation are concerned about Turner's leadership because he supports policies that the advocates believe will increase housing instability. Those policies include, for example, increasing the role of private equity in the rental market and opposing HUD's efforts to advance racial equity. Turner announced Thursday that he would revoke $4 million worth of diversity, equity and inclusion contacts at HUD. The move is keeping with a Trump directive to stamp out such efforts in the federal government. In its letter to the North Carolina congressional delegation, the Housing Coalition said a 'pause' in funding for housing and community development would be 'catastrophic.' 'At a time when housing seems out of reach for a growing number of North Carolinians, and as the Western part of our state recovers from the devastation of Hurricane Helene, now is the time to lean into critical housing and community development programs that allow North Carolinians to rebuild and thrive, rather than cut essential funds and services that will result in increased housing instability and homelessness,' the Housing Coalition said. The NC Chamber Foundation, NC REALTORS and the N.C. Homebuilders Association recently released a statewide report showing that North Carolina is facing a significant housing inventory gap across all income levels and geographic regions. The report predicts the gap will increase with projected job and population growth. Addressing the gap could generate $489 billion in economic activity and create nearly 2.2 million jobs, the report said. Last month, Rep. Valerie Foushee, (D-NC-4) called Trump's action to halt approved federal funding 'illegal and unprecedented' and an overreach of power. 'My district is home to leading research institutions and universities, and this sweeping freeze will harm the livelihoods of researchers, federal employees, and students throughout the Triangle region,' Foushee said in a statement. 'This extreme order will not only pause countless federally funded research projects, but will also prevent our state from accessing emergency FEMA funds that are needed to help our neighbors in Western North Carolina rebuild and recover from Helene.' Foushee said Trump's directive also threatens to withhold essential funding from first responders, schools, infrastructure improvement projects, healthcare centers, small businesses, veterans, seniors and other important projects and agencies.
