Mayor Lydia Lavelle announced today (Monday, Jan. 4) that the Town of Carrboro was awarded $900,000 in CDBG-CV funding for emergency housing assistance. This is the maximum grant amount awarded by the NC Department of Commerce.
The funds will allow the Town to continue to respond effectively to meet the critical needs of Carrboro families, preventing evictions and homelessness.
“The Town of Carrboro would like to thank Governor Cooper and the Rural Economic Development Division,” said Mayor Lavelle. “These much needed funds will help provide housing stability to Carrboro residents in 2021.”
In support of public health and economic recovery goals outlined by Governor Roy Cooper, the Rural Economic Development Division of the NC Department of Commerce announced in August 2020 that new funding would be available through a competitive application process. The Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) program aims to help local governments and communities prevent, respond to, and prepare for the health and economic impacts of COVID-19. Awarded grants support the needs of low and moderate-income residents.
Carrboro Housing and Community Services Director Rebecca Buzzard said the Town Council allocated more than $300,000 in CARES Act funding earlier in the year to support emergency housing assistance.
“After these funds were expended, we continued to field calls from residents seeking assistance with rent and utility payments,” Buzzard said. “We worked to seek additional funding avenues. Today, we couldn’t be happier for the additional assistance to help our community cope during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Helping people to access resources to meet urgent housing needs has been accomplished through a successful partnership between the Orange County Housing and Community Development Department and Carrboro Housing and Community Services. The Town of Carrboro will continue to partner with Orange County’s Emergency Housing Assistance Program (EHA) to administer the awarded funds.
Orange County’s EHA program provides emergency financial assistance for housing related costs to help low-income households secure and maintain stable housing. To date, the EHA program has assisted more than 1,000 low-income households, including nearly 250 in Carrboro.
“Since the pandemic hit, many Carrboro residents have been struggling to make ends meet,” Buzzard said. “We have heard from people who have lost their jobs, had a reduction in hours, left work to care for children and have gotten sick. They worry about losing their housing and not being able to pay their bills. These new funds will meet the urgent needs of many in our community.”
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Photo caption: Since the beginning of the pandemic, 247 households in Carrboro have received Emergency Housing Assistance.