Rent Assistance is Crucial for People with Disabilities
In addition, the Agency’s rent assistance partnerships with the NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) helped 5,180 vulnerable North Carolinians in 2021. These programs include the state’s Transitions to Community Living Voucher, which provides rent assistance to help people with behavioral health disabilities either be diverted from or transition out of restrictive settings to live in the community of their choice.
The Agency also provides access and support for the state’s Key Rental Assistance, which helps low-income people with disabilities secure housing through the Targeting Program. A partnership between the Agency and NCDHHS, the Targeting Program requires properties developed using the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) to set aside between 10% and 20% of their units for eligible participants as identified by NCDHHS. To date, these programs have helped more than 9,820 North Carolinians with special housing needs.
Renters facing eviction also received assistance from Back@Home, a collaboration between our Agency, the Governor’s office, NCDHHS, the NC Coalition to End Homelessness and other agencies. Originally developed to help families transition to safe and sustainable housing after hurricanes hit the state, the program was expanded in 2021 to help address housing needs resulting from pandemic-related evictions.
These funds were used to pay application fees, security deposits, utility deposits, moving costs, COVID-19 and public health training and more. To date, nearly 1,600 families have secured housing through the program, including more than 900 impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.