The Orange County Affordable Housing Coalition (the Coalition) has been advocating for affordable housing across the county for over a decade – and they just wrapped up one of their most intensive advocacy campaigns yet.

I recently spoke with George Barrett, co-chair of the Coalition and Executive Director of the Jackson Center and Kaitlyn Kopala and Jack Spencer from Habitat for Humanity of Orange County. Habitat is a member of the Coalition. [Disclosure: I serve on Habitat’s board]

We chatted about what the Coalition is, what they’ve been working on recently, what’s coming next, and how you can support their work and, by extension, a welcoming community where everyone can thrive.

What is the Orange County Affordable Housing Coalition?

The Coalition brings together affordable housing organizations, local governments developers, advocates, and community members who are all working toward the same goal: more affordable housing in Orange County. Think of it as a united front – homeownership, homelessness services, rental assistance, housing nonprofits, and individual advocates all coordinating their efforts instead of working in silos (partner organizations include Community Home Trust, DHIC, Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, HOPE North Carolina, Hope Renovations, Inter-Faith Council for Social Services, Pee Wee Homes, Self-Help, and UNC Community Practice Lab).

The Coalition recognizes that the housing need is much bigger than any single organization can solve independently. By bringing together groups with different specialties – some build houses, some finance them, some focus on preventing homelessness – they can present a unified voice on housing policy.

Founded around 2013, the Coalition has notched some significant wins over the years, including helping secure Chapel Hill’s $15 million affordable housing bond last year and organizing candidate forums and voter guides for local elections.

Their Latest Campaign: Following the Money

This year, the coalition tried something new and intensive. They formed a working group specifically focused on tracking government funding and advocating during the municipal budget seasons for Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough, and Orange County.

The Coalition decided to focus more heavily on advocacy work, recognizing that consistent engagement with local government is crucial for advancing affordable housing. The strategy was simple but demanding: show up early and consistently to budget meetings from start to finish, advocate for specific priorities in each town, and make sure elected officials knew exactly what housing community members need.

For two months, Coalition members attended every public hearing and many business meetings across all four jurisdictions. They weren’t just showing up to the big final budget hearings – they were there in early April when councils were just starting to talk about priorities, when there weren’t many other people paying attention yet.

The eight-person working group divided responsibilities among the different municipalities, with each person taking the lead on specific jurisdictions while coordinating overall strategy. They also recruited other coalition members and community advocates to attend key meetings.

Their specific asks included:

  • Chapel Hill: Increase property tax assistance due to recent property revaluations, create more down payment assistance programs (particularly to support Black homeownership since Black homeownership has declined significantly), and move forward with their five-year, $50 million affordable housing plan
  • Carrboro: Research options for an affordable housing bond and increase property tax support
  • Orange County: Increase funding for the Longterm Homeowners Assistance Program and allocate significant funding for home repair assistance to preserve existing affordable housing
  • Hillsborough: Support home repair programs and affordable housing projects in the pipeline

Across all municipalities, the coalition also advocated for maintaining or increasing funding for organizations doing on-the-ground affordable housing work, recognizing that these groups are seeing increased need while facing reduced federal funding.

The results were mixed but encouraging. Orange County allocated an additional $100,000 toward property tax assistance and significant funding for home repairs. Other jurisdictions made smaller but still meaningful investments in their requested areas.

Why Budget Meetings Matter (Even Though They’re Not Fun)

The coalition learned that municipal budget meetings are crucial but not well understood by the general public. These meetings determine how towns and counties allocate resources for affordable housing programs, but they’re not particularly engaging for most people.

Getting involved early in the budget process – when there aren’t many people in the room yet – proved especially effective. By the time the big public hearings happen, the framework is already largely set. The coalition found that by being present consistently from the beginning, they could establish their priorities and maintain visibility throughout the decision-making process.

One key lesson was that elected officials respond to consistent presence and communication. Having coalition members at meeting after meeting, reinforcing the same priorities, helped ensure that affordable housing remained on councils’ radar throughout budget deliberations.

Looking Ahead: Local Elections

The coalition’s next big push focuses on the November local elections. They’re working on a voter guide that will survey all candidates about their positions on affordable housing issues, with a goal of getting it out by Labor Day – earlier than in past years to give voters more time to review the information.

The process involves developing questionnaires for candidates, some with municipality-specific questions that address local housing challenges. They’re also considering hosting candidate forums to give voters more direct access to candidates’ positions.

The coalition doesn’t endorse specific candidates, but they work to educate voters about where candidates stand on housing issues. They plan to be present at polling sites with information and will push the voter guide through their networks and social media channels.

This election work highlights how far in advance housing advocates need to think. Budget conversations happen months or even years before implementation, and the relationships with elected officials that make advocacy effective need to be built over time.

Want to Get Involved?

The coalition is always open to new members, especially individuals who want to advocate for affordable housing. While there’s a simple membership process, they’re particularly looking for people who can help with their election work – spreading voter guides through their networks, attending candidate events, or helping with social media outreach.

The coalition meets regularly and includes both organizational members and individual community advocates. They coordinate with town and county staff but maintain independence as an advocacy organization.

For people who want to support affordable housing but can’t commit to regular meeting attendance, the coalition offers opportunities to help during key campaigns – like showing up to important budget hearings or helping distribute voter information during election season.

How to connect:

The work isn’t glamorous – budget meetings, candidate forums, voter guides. But as this year’s budget campaign showed, consistent advocacy by organized groups can move the needle on housing policy. In a community where housing costs continue to rise and federal funding for affordable housing faces cuts, local advocacy has never been more important.

The coalition’s approach demonstrates that effective advocacy requires both showing up consistently and thinking strategically about timing. Their budget season work laid important groundwork, and their upcoming election efforts will help determine who makes housing decisions for the next several years.

Stephen Whitlow lives in Chapel Hill. Trained as an urban planner at DCRP, he works for a research, evaluation, and technical assistance firm and focuses on the areas of housing affordability, fair housing,...