Amid the COVID-19 pandemic generating a near-unprecedented economic downturn and increased risk of homelessness in the U.S., Orange County has emerged as a leader in the fight against evictions and homelessness over the last year.
Although the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suspended evictions for tenants that meet certain income requirements through March 31, many communities are fearing an ensuing wave of displaced people should the moratorium not be further extended.
Orange County, however, is not one of these communities. Through a series of coordinated efforts between the county and its various town governments, the county is largely holding its eviction numbers lower than they were before the pandemic.
Emila Sutton, Orange County Housing and Community Development Director, said there have been times over the course of the pandemic the various eviction moratoria, set either nationally or by Governor Roy Cooper, were limited or not in place at all. She said while other communities saw surges in evictions during these lapses in moratoria, Orange County’s eviction figures have been able to stay continuously lower than they were pre-pandemic.
“And I really think that’s because of the eviction and homelessness prevention work that Emergency Housing Assistance provides,” Sutton said.
Emergency Housing Assistance is a program Orange County started in 2018 to help low-income members of the community avoid eviction and secure and maintain stable housing. In order to be eligible, residents must demonstrate an urgent need for housing assistance and earn no more than 60% of the area’s median income.
In 2020, a combination of funds received from the county, the towns within the county, and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act allowed Orange County Housing and Community Development to spend a total of $2.5 million on relief through the program.
Members of the community have been able to access this relief by reaching out to Orange County’s Housing Helpline via phone or email. Sutton described the helpline as a professional triage capable of assessing the needs of any resident experiencing a housing crisis and referring them to the resources they need. The helpline is ran by a partnership between Orange County Housing and Community Development and the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness.
“We know people are still hurting, we know people are coming to the absolute end of their resources and we want to make them know they can contact the town or the county and we will help them,” Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger said. “We have the resources and we’re working really hard not just to keep people safe but to keep people functional and fed and housed as well.”
Not only has Orange County provided a forum for members of the community to seek help, but the chair of the Orange County Board of County Commissioners and the mayors of Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough have joined forces with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the clerk of courts to take matters into their own hands should the moratorium on evictions not be extended.
“If an eviction came up, they would contact us to check into the situation before they actually proceeded to the court process,” Hemminger said. “So if we find out that a family is in dire threat of being evicted and there’s someway we can help to keep that from happening, we will use our donations and our CARES funding to help Orange County work with the landlord to let the folks stay there if money is the problem.”
“We’ve been doing that when we were afraid that the eviction moratorium was going to be lifted, and we’re all prepared to jump in and do that again if this should happen.”
Orange County saw so much success in their fight against evictions and homelessness that other counties and municipalities have reached out for guidance. Sutton said because the county was one of the few communities to have an existing eviction and homelessness prevention program going into the pandemic, they’ve been hosting local and national webinars to assist other areas in getting started with these types of efforts.
Corey Root, Orange County Homeless Programs Coordinator, has worked in 79 different counties and said Orange County is extremely rare in how everyone – from members of the community to elected officials and town and county staff – genuinely understand the issue of homelessness.
“It’s just a real joy to work in a place where we are really able to have advanced conversations around how we’re going to end homelessness and what we need to do in order to do that,” Root said.
Photo via Town of Chapel Hill.
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees. You can support local journalism and our mission to serve the community. Contribute today – every single dollar matters.
Comments on Chapelboro are moderated according to our Community Guidelines