Building tiny homes, opening churches: Wilmington faith community discusses how to address housing crisis
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Members of the faith community and several nonprofits came together to discuss how to address the affordable housing crisis in the Port City.
One Christian Network hosted the Housing Crisis Forum on Thursday night at the First Baptist Church Activity Center in Wilmington.
Emma Baltezore, director of One Christian Network, says it’s not just one organization or group of people that can address the crisis alone.
“If you live in Wilmington, you know that housing is hard to come by. Churches, nonprofits, businesses, government leaders — we want them all to have creative solutions because we know not one entity can do it alone,” said Baltezore.
Andy Jones, interim CEO of WAARM, kicked off the forum by sharing relevant data from the North Carolina Housing Coalition. Notably, an income of $60,600 is needed to afford the Fair Market Rent in New Hanover County. The data compares that number to the average annual salaries of elementary teachers, childcare workers, and firefighters which are $48,150; $22,410; and $30,210, respectively.
Experts took the stage by sharing information on how to build accessory dwelling units on properties, which are essentially smaller homes that can be built in the backyards of existing homes. Suzanne Rogers formerly worked for the City of Wilmington in the housing area. She shared information about the city’s Rental Rehab Loan. People can apply for a loan of up to $200,000 with a 0% interest rate to help create affordable housing on smaller scales.
The forum also featured a panel of people who opened their homes to people in need by renting out guest rooms at a low cost. Finally, two faith leaders spoke about using underutilized space on church property to address the issue.
Laura Bullock, community engagement director for Vigilant Hope, says helping others is something they are called to do as Christians.
“Over and over and over again, God’s asking His people like — ‘hey, I’m going to give you what you need. If you take care of each other and share it, you’re going to have enough.’ I think there’s one in 18 verses in the New Testament that are about alleviating poverty. So this is core to following Jesus, so it should be core to our conversation in our city now,” said Bullock. “There are some creative solutions that we can lean into. If we each do a little something, it’s not quite as overwhelming.”
A follow up event will be hosted on April 9 at The Roastery at 24 South 16th Street at 11 am. Church leaders will be able to speak with experts about ways to leverage church property for housing and other outreach needs. It is open to the public, but registration is required. More information on that can be found on the One Christian Network website.
Even if people do not follow the Christian faith, Baltezore added the One Christian Network website can be a helpful starting point to connect with resources in mental health, food pantries, and more.
