These are some of the week's top headlines for housing news and policy in North Carolina.
Background to NC AG Jackson's action:
AmeriCorps Terminates $400 Million in Grants, Cancels 32,000 Members
Late last week, the Corporation for National and Community Service sent letters terminating just under $400 million AmeriCorps grants across the country, cancelling the services of over 32,000 members, effective immediately. In North Carolina, 351 AmeriCorps members at 13 sites across the state were terminated, including the two active AmeriCorps VISTA members that the NC Housing Coalition placed at local housing counseling agencies across the state. This follows the demobilization of AmeriCorps’ National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), which Governor Josh Stein spoke out against due to the loss of 52 NCCC members assisting with post-Helene cleanup.
If you or your organization was impacted by these AmeriCorps cuts, contact us at info@nchousing.org.
Congress Sends Letter in Support of AmeriCorps
Last Wednesday, Congress sent a bicameral letter to President Trump signed by 149 lawmakers — 44 senators and 105 members of the House. Please keep mobilizing your networks. We must keep getting messages to Congress - especially Republicans - to protect AmeriCorps. You can read the full text of the letter here.
Camping Ban Bill Advances in House
This week, a House Judiciary Committee advanced House Bill 781, An Act Banning Unauthorized Public Camping or sleeping in the state and local government units of the state, to the House Committee on State and Local Government, bringing it one step closer to law. The bill states that a local government cannot allow or authorize anyone to engage in public sleeping or camping on any public property. Instead, it may designate a specific area of land within the local government’s jurisdiction to be used for public camping or sleeping for no more than one year. Advocates spoke out against the potential harms of the bill at the committee meeting.
