City to Partner with CCM

City Council voted this month to use about $170,000 in federal HOME funds for affordable housing in a partnership with Cooperative Christian Ministry. As many of you know, CCM is one of the main local non-profits heavily involved in hunger-fighting and homelessness programs. CCM has a Teaching Housing Program that provides transitional housing combined with a supportive program to get families out of the emergency shelters and working towards permanent, market-rate housing. With the economy the way that it is and the increase in foreclosures, the need for transitional housing has grown significantly in Cabarrus  County.

The City’s partnership with CCM would primarily involve the purchase and rehab of vacant homes and providing them to CCM as transitional housing units for a few years. CCM would manage the property and the tenants. The houses would be purchased in the Carver area, where the City is working on neighborhood revitalization efforts.  This partnership will tackle a few different issues:

1. Provide additional transitional housing units to families in need.
2. Upgrade existing housing units through the rehab part of this program, thereby improving the appearance of the neighborhood.
3. In a few years when the housing market improves, the units will be returned to the City and sold to first time homebuyers, helping to increase home ownership rates in the neighborhood.
4. When the sales of the units occur, the program dollars that were invested will be returned to the City to be redeployed in future affordable housing efforts.

The families in the program are typically single mothers with children. All families who enter the program must meet strict requirements in making financial progress and improving household income. City staff drove by the existing Teaching Houses to assess their condition and upkeep and get an understanding of their impact on the neighborhoods. All of the properties were well kept, and had been painted and rehabbed. In many cases the condition of the homes was better than some of the neighboring properties. See pictures of Teaching Houses below:

We’re excited to be able to partner with organizations like CCM to fill such an important community need. Economic times like this require pooling resources and thinking out of the box to get things done!