Charlotte City Council members approved more than $5 million this week in grants to four nonprofit organizations for affordable housing projects. But a fifth project to build housing for formerly incarcerated people was put on hold because of concerns from nearby residents.
Freedom Fighting Missionaries, which helps formerly incarcerated people secure housing and other services, wants to build a total of 37 rental townhouses in east Charlotte for people who have served time in jail. Sixteen would be in the Grove Park neighborhood.
The group was slated to receive $2 million from the city to help finance the homes. Some neighbors complained that they had no prior information on the project. Council member Marjorie Molina who represents east Charlotte, called for the funding to be put on hold until the next meeting.
"The purpose is we made the decision in committee (on these funds)," Molina said during this week's council meeting. "This is not a denial, but a delay to get clarity around what is happening. I feel there is some fear because there is not enough knowledge that’s been exchanged, so I want to offer the opportunity to have that happen."
Since 2016, Nichola Dow and her family have lived next door to the proposed site for the Grove Park project. Located near Sharon Amity Road and East W.T. Harris Boulevard, Dow describes her neighborhood as a well-established, diverse community of mainly single-family homes. Some neighbors don’t want housing for formerly incarcerated people built there. But Dow says her main concern is not being provided information on the project from the developer and city officials.
"A lot of us are for people having opportunities and second chances," Dow said. "The hardest part is no one knows about it. It’s surprising that something’s going in and we weren’t aware of it and it feels like they are trying to get it pushed in under the radar."
Dow says questions they have for FFM and the city include, "What does this do to our neighborhood? Does it affect us, and maybe it doesn’t? I know a lot of neighbors’ questions are: 'What have they been jailed for?; Are they going to be families or individuals?; Is there a screening process and what does that look like?' I'm not against it, but I don’t know how it works in practice."
FFM officials were not available but city documents show the tenants must have full-time jobs, attend financial workshops and other counseling.
Council member Braxton Winston voted for the delay, but he wants the project to move forward because the need for affordable housing is great, especially for the formerly incarcerated.
"I appreciate the need for community involvement at every step of our process, but we have to make sure we continue to push the work along," Winston said. "We have a lot of need in our community and not a lot of time to get folks the help that they need. We're talking about fragile populations that need help sooner rather than later."
The grants the council approved to the smaller nonprofits rather than larger developers represent a shift in the city’s strategy for addressing Charlotte’s roughly 30,000-unit affordable housing shortage.
"This was the first type of investment of this kind," Winston said in an interview. "We’ve tried to find ways to engage with new partners to provide opportunities for people doing the work on the ground, close to the problems and the solutions. We’re finding innovative solutions to use our dollars to provide the resources needed to populations that need it the most that we’ve found difficulty in helping historically in Charlotte."
The four grants council members approved include $2.25 million to Heal Charlotte for temporary emergency housing; $1.75 million to West Side Community Land Trust to build affordable homes; $1.1 million to Rebuilding Together Comprehensive Home for home renovations; and $400,000 to Charlotte Family housing for various services. The projects are being funded with coronavirus recovery funds.
