The Charlotte Journalism Collaborative (CJC) launched in 2019 with a give attention to options to the inexpensive housing disaster. From hire management to housing fundraisers, communities try to provide you with options — wanting to ensure everybody can afford to have a roof over their heads.
The mannequin for “partnership housing” was developed in 1976 on a group farm in rural Georgia by Millard and Linda Fuller. The idea turned Habitat for Humanity and right now is constructing and bettering inexpensive properties for households in all 50 states and in additional than 70 international locations.
Beneath the Habitat mannequin, individuals in want of housing work aspect by aspect with volunteers to construct their properties. Nonprofit loans assist make it inexpensive for brand spanking new owners, and cash raised by the group goes right into a fund to construct extra properties.
Greater than 2,200 properties have been constructed or rehabbed within the Charlotte area within the final 40 years, based on the native affiliate, Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte Area.
In July, the information organizations that make up CJC determined to discover the Habitat mannequin to raised perceive the way it works, its advantages and its limitations. This comes on the heels of native reporting on the 2023 Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Challenge, which constructed 27 new properties on the Meadows at Plato Place, a group in west Charlotte. It additionally coincides with the 40-year anniversary of the native Habitat affiliate.
Even in a altering world the place some query whether or not homeownership stays an important a part of the American dream, proudly owning a house stays an necessary device for creating generational wealth and constructing financial mobility.
The next tales present Habitat’s affect on households and neighborhoods in Charlotte.
On this CJC sequence, we share tales of homeownership, study essential house restore packages, clarify how 3D printing might carry innovation to Charlotte, and discover how partnerships help the housing wants of the LGBTQ+ group. We glance past Charlotte to discover rural associates and areas with no native Habitat, and discuss with Latino owners about their expertise discovering affordability in surrounding counties.
The next tales characterize the work of six reporters and mix to create a complete exploration of one of many oldest fashions for inexpensive housing in Charlotte. It’s a part of our “I Can’t Afford to Reside Right here,” challenge – a multi-year collaborative reporting challenge targeted on options to the inexpensive housing disaster. Learn the complete sequence on charlottejournalism.org, or on any of our companions’ web sites.
The Charlotte Journalism Collaborative is supported by native and nationwide grants and sponsorships, together with NC Native Information Lab Fund, Options Journalism Community, Knight Basis, Wells Fargo, Basis for the Carolinas, DreamKey Companions and NC Native Information Workshop.
Members of the collaborative embody Carolina Public Press, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, James L. Knight Faculty of Communication at Queens College of Charlotte, La Noticia, QCity Metro, Qnotes, The Charlotte Observer, WCNC-Charlotte, and WFAE 90.7 FM.
