Mecklenburg County Community Support Services recently released a report on housing and homelessness that shows the need for affordable housing is rising even as less affordable housing is available. | Stock Photo
Mecklenburg County Community Support Services recently released a report on housing and homelessness that shows the need for affordable housing is rising even as less affordable housing is available. | Stock Photo
The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened an already unstable housing and homelessness problem in Mecklenburg County, and there is a 23,060-unit gap of rental units for extremely low-income households in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.
Mecklenburg County Community Support Services (CSS) said that permanent, affordable housing is necessary to maintaining both individual and public health, a Sept. 24 county release said.
Mecklenburg County CSS recently released the 2020 Charlotte-Mecklenburg State of Housing Instability and Homelessness Report, produced by the University of North Carolina Charlotte Urban Institute, detailing the state of the growing problems in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area.
Even as the county has faced a growing need for permanent, affordable housing, the available accommodation that fills that demand has been in decline, the release stated.
“The new data in the 2020 report also includes information on the systemic and structural causes of housing instability and homelessness, and details on barriers to voucher utilization in Charlotte-Mecklenburg,” the release said. “In addition, the report features information related to the impact of COVID-19 on the capacity of and demand for housing-related services in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.”
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