In the News

November 18 – December 2 

Housing Equity 

1. Advocates call for NC pension to stop investing in private equity firm with ties to corporate landlords: A group that advocates for communities impacted by private equity investments has asked the North Carolina retirement fund to stop investing in Landmark Partners which has made investments into real estate companies accused of mistreating rental tenants in order to maximize profits, including to tenants in North Carolina. 

2. ‘The issue impacts the entire community’ | Corporate landlords contributing to affordable housing crisis: More than 30% of all homes in Charlotte over the past two quarters have gone to investors, and large investors now own over 40,000 single-family homes in North Carolina. Mecklenburg County is searching for a consultant to help address this problem by engaging the community in lessoning sessions in 2023. 

3. Rising rent prices force more people in High Point to seek help from shelters: In 2021 West End Ministries saw 116 women in need of housing. In 2022 they have already seen 176 women. 

4. NCORR and NC Housing Coalition to assist first-time homebuyers: The program assists first-time and first-generation homebuyers with up to $30,000 in down payment assistance and up to 5% in closing cost assistance in 16 counties in North Carolina, including Pender, New Hanover, Brunswick, Bladen and Columbus counties. 

5. RHA, development partners plan project to rebuild part of southeast Raleigh with more affordable homes: The high cost of living in southeast Raleigh has already forced many residents of the area to move out. Now, plans are being made to replace the current units at Heritage Park with new affordable ones for current tenants. 

Health Equity 

1. NC health agency appealing ruling on services for disabled: North Carolina’s government is appealing a trial judge’s order that demands many more community services by certain dates for people with intellectual and development disabilities who otherwise live at institutions. 

2. ‘Living in despair and hopelessness’: A lack of affordable housing can put people’s health at risk: Due to rising rents, a growing number of people are stuck in substandard housing with environmental hazards that put them at higher risk for asthma and lead poisoning. These problems are especially acute among Black people and other groups that have been historically denied good jobs, mortgages, and other opportunities. 

3. Bills targeting trans youth are growing more common — and radically reshaping lives: Over the past two years, state lawmakers introduced at least 306 bills targeting trans people, more than in any previous period. 86% focuses on restricting access to gender-affirming care for trans youth. 

4. 988 makes it easier to get help in a mental health crisis, but NC needs more providers: A new National Suicide Prevention Lifeline — 988 — went into operation in mid-July, replacing the former 10-digit number most states offered. North Carolina saw an immediate increase in calls. Advocates say that shows two things: the new number is easier to use, and the state still needs more mental health care providers. 

5. In-jail mental health treatment producing a ‘night and day’ difference for some in Forsyth County: The source of the transformation is the jail’s 20-bed behavioral health unit, which provides counseling and mental health treatment to inmates. People with mental illnesses are overrepresented in U.S. jails and prisons, but few provide mental health services. 

Economic Opportunity 

1. North Carolina’s economic future ‘inextricably linked’ to child care, report says: A new report from the NC Early Childhood Foundation’s found that 40,000 working parents across the state are constrained by childcare needs and almost half of NC families with children live in “childcare deserts” and dropped out of college or other training to care for children. 

2. Study finds Latino workers die of occupational injuries at higher rates than other groups: For decades, workers of color have been segregated into more dangerous jobs and been pressured to accept more risky assignments than their white counterparts. 

3. Race and Economic Outcomes: A Conference Recap: Researchers presented papers on a variety of topics, including monetary policy and racial inequality, affirmative action, reparations, and the causes of Black-White wealth gaps during a recent Richmond Fed research conference. 

4. UNC Housekeepers Demand Fair Pay, Working Conditions: UNC housekeepers demanding fair pay and better treatment. Their action aims to meet immediate needs but also to take down North Carolina’s restrictive anti-union legislation, a relic of the Jim Crow era. 

5. NCGrowth Expands Efforts to Create Opportunity in Southwestern NC: NCGrowth is expanding to seven counties in southwestern NC – Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jacson, Macon and Swain – and will provide direct technical assistance to businesses and capacity-building support to local governments to build and strengthen a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem. 

Educational Equity 

1. North Carolina charter schools continue to see record growth past pandemic boom: Charter schools continue to attract Black and Hispanic students who may feel left out or left behind in traditional classrooms. 14,312 new students enrolled in North Carolina charters during the pandemic while traditional district schools lost 48,283 students.   

2. Schools Are Resegregating. There’s a Push for the Supreme Court to Consider That: A report from the Civil Rights Project at UCLA documents the disconcerting increase of Black segregation in schools in all parts of the country and the more than one-third of U.S. public school students who attend a predominantly same-race/ethnicity school. 

3. Why limiting teachings about race and history is a major problem for North Carolina public schools: At least 32 states have introduced bills or taken other steps to limit how teachers can discuss racism and sexism, at times under the guise of CRT, and multiple North Carolina counties are in the process. 

4. For one NC county, the reading gap between high and low-income students narrowed during COVID: Researchers found students who chose to go to school in person tended to be lower income and were able to catch up to their higher income peers that chose remote instruction. 

5. Monday numbers: A closer look at students taking advanced courses in North Carolina’s schools: Black students made gains with the number taking AP exams increasing by 1.2% and the number passing exams increasing by 36.7% compared to 35.2% nationwide. Similarly, the number of Latinx students passing AP exams increased by 24.7% in North Carolina compared to 24.1% nationally.