Guilford County, the city of High Point, and the city of Greensboro have all been adopting programs aimed at reducing homelessness, and Greensboro officials have now added another project to that list.
The City of Greensboro is rolling out a new rental assistance program designed to help some of the city’s most vulnerable residents secure stable housing, with city officials saying that the effort will target those at risk of homelessness.
The initiative, approved by the City Council at its March 17 meeting, is scheduled to begin Monday, June 1, and will run through the fall of 2030. The city is partnering with the Greensboro Housing Authority to administer more than $1.6 million in assistance for low-income households.
Funding for the program comes from the federal American Rescue Plan Act through the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, along with support from the Nussbaum Housing Partnership.
According to city officials, the program will focus on households earning 30 percent or less of this area’s median income. Assistance will be directed mainly toward individuals and families already on the Continuum of Care rapid re-housing waitlist, as well as those referred by partner agencies, with all referrals coordinated through the housing authority.
Priority will be given to people experiencing homelessness or those fleeing domestic violence.
Eligible households may receive rental assistance for up to 24 months.
“This initiative strengthens our community’s response to homelessness by providing flexible rental assistance and partnering with local providers to ensure households receive the support they need to achieve stability,” Greensboro Housing Authority Chief Executive Officer James Cox said.
City officials say that the program is also intended to reduce the backlog of people waiting for housing help.
“This program will help reduce the waitlist in our community for individuals who are homeless or at risk of homelessness,” Greensboro Supportive Housing Analyst Charles Gray said. “Together, with our ongoing work to expand affordable housing, it reflects the city’s commitment to providing safe, secure, and dignified housing options for residents who need it most.”
This latest effort is part of a broader housing strategy known as Housing GSO – a 10-year plan adopted by the City Council in 2020 to improve access to affordable housing and upgrade existing housing conditions across Greensboro.
That plan outlines four main goals: expanding affordable rental housing, reinvesting in neighborhoods, increasing access to homeownership and providing supportive housing.
The current phase of Housing GSO includes plans to create a housing loan fund aimed at preserving and developing affordable multi-family housing, with funding strategies mapped out through 2030.
More information is available on the city’s website.
I would hope that this program also have specific required positive steps to get those participating self-sufficient for best use of the tax payer money. Periodic evaluations by trained experts of each individual in the program should be made to evaluate progress toward becoming self-sustaining.
1.) Required drug testing to enter the program for those living in the home and required attendance of a drug treatment program for those found to be with concerns. All must be monitored on a set frequency. The key is to ensure drug addiction is removed so that the person(s) can eventually live on their own. Violations will make the person(s) ineligible for the program including criminal activity.
2.) Required mental and physical health evaluation for those living in the home entering the program and a set treatment program that is followed and periodically monitored in order to stay in the program. The goal is to make the person(s) self-sustaining if possible. Violations will make the person(s) ineligible for the program including criminal activity.
3.) Required participation in the learning of a trade if the person(s) living in the home are able after review of the employment history of the person(s). The key is to get the person(s) into a self-sustaining employment scenario where they can be self-sufficient.
4.) Any children in the home must be attending school and their school counselors made aware to ensure positive roll models are brought into their lives to make attempts to break the cycle of poverty.
5.) Person(s) living in the home in the program should be required to attend financial education classes to ensure attempts are made on how to establish a budget and stick to that budget so the person(s) can eventually be self-sustaining.
6.) The Homes need to be monitored and people who are not listed in the program should not be allowed to live in the home at the tax payer’s expense.
Sounds ideal but expensive.
So is giving away other people’s money.
Hey Self Sustaining
There are some people who are less fortunate than others and they need assistance. Get off your high self righteous horse and have some compassion for those who are less fortunate. Remember you can’t have rich people without poor people, that’s capitalism.
Not on any high horse. I came from the rough side of the tracks with little money in our family. There are ways to help people become self sustaining and I am listing those ways. The better way is to teach folks to fish rather than just giving them fish.
You take care and try to learn a little. Real compassion is allowing people to break the poverty cycle they are stuck in.
Don’t help to teach a man to fish if he doesn’t have a hook and line.
It’s called “noodling” and people make a living at it. Not complicated. Keep making excuses for failure though, dummy.
Ahhhhhhh….right. Totally forgot that type of fishing. Guess you have to teach them to swim as well.
No dummy, you stand in the water about waist deep, usually next to the shore. Keep making excuses for failure, even in this hyperbolic example. So typical.
More freebies. What happens when the money is depleated? More tax increases?
because i camp & backpack i know that it takes very little to feed ,clothe & tent shelter. but HVAC, vices, medical care, MV, purchased entertainment are budget busters. rice, beansngreens b cheap.
And where would these extra taxes come from (like nobody could guess)?
What would be the name of the new department created to run this fiasco?
Which Skip the Omnipotent sycophant would be rewarded with the (six figure?) position?