1,000 ONE Wake Leaders Call on Raleigh City Council and Wake County Board of Commissioners Candidates to Make Major Investments in Affordable Housing

Media

Indyweek: At an Assembly Last Week, Raleigh City Council Candidates Committed to ONE Wake Affordable Housing Plan 

News and Observer: Raleigh Council Candidates Support Affordable Housing but Split on More Money for it

Full video from assembly available here

Pictures from assembly available here

900+ members of ONE Wake institutions turned out in-person at Watts Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, with 100 more joining online for a non-partisan assembly with 25 candidates for Raleigh City Council. Together, we called on candidates for transformative investment to address the affordable housing crisis that is driving displacement across the city, and the growing racial wealth gap.  

Nearly every candidate said YES! to the community-led proposals presented to them, and also promised to return to another public assembly with ONE Wake in 12 months to report on their progress.

You can watch candidate responses here

This assembly was the culmination of a year long organizing effort that was rooted in the leadership and vision of Black clergy across Wake County, with strong support from ONE Wake's multi-racial base. Over the last six months, ONE Wake institutions collected more than 8,000 signatures demonstrating support for bold action to exponentially increase affordable housing production in our communities, especially affordable home ownership to create a pathway for equity and generational wealth.

The need couldn't be any clearer. Over 65,000 units of affordable housing are needed in Wake County, a gap which is driving the displacement of families and the destabilization of entire communities. Roughly 20,000 households in Wake County faced an eviction or foreclosure last year, and changing neighborhood demographics reflects widespread gentrification. The College Park neighborhood in Raleigh, for example, saw a nearly 40% decrease in Black residents, while the percentage of White residents grew over 300%. 

On Thursday night, all assembled heard testimony from ONE Wake leaders about the impacts of this crisis on their lives and the lives of their families. You can watch their testimony here.

To address this crisis, ONE Wake leaders presented clear proposals and asked Raleigh City Council candidates whether they would support: 1) a substantial increase in local affordable housing funding, from roughly $30 million per year, to roughly $70 million per year; and 2) identification of 100 acres of city, county, and state land to be designated and held for affordable housing development.

Leaders also asked candidates whether they would support our shared vision to build Nehemiah housing in Wake County, and whether they would join us on an inter-city tour to Brooklyn to see Nehemiah housing in-person before next May. You can learn more about Nehemiah here.

No candidates for the Wake County Board of Commissioners attended Thursday night's assembly. In their absence, ONE Wake leaders called for a funding increase for the County's Housing Department, from an expected $40 million in FY 25, to $60 million.

This action was a tremendous accomplishment, and was simultaneously both the largest local candidate event of the election season, and the largest in-person action ever held by ONE Wake.

Congratulations to the talented organizing team behind this event and to every institution that turned out their members in support! A special THANK YOU to the Watts Chapel team for their strong turnout, leadership, and for ensuring that the event ran smoothly and safely.