CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, a previous headline for this story mischaracterized the reason Orange County Section 8 tenants were put at risk of losing their housing. While tenants still have vouchers, several properties have stopped accepting them. The headline has been updated to reflect this change. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.
At a Chapel Hill Town Council meeting Monday, the council approved a $10,000 emergency fund for families displaced because their complex has stopped accepting Section 8 housing vouchers.
Section 8 vouchers are a federally funded subsidy that help low-income families afford private housing.
The Orange County Affordable Housing Coalition — which includes organizations such as EmPOWERment Inc., Justice United and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP — plans to use the money to start a new program that offers rental and utility assistance to those displaced families.
By helping families with expenses, such as utility bills and security deposits, the coalition hopes to make each family’s transition to a new home smoother.
Tish Galu, chairwoman of the board at Justice United, a community organization that addresses social justice issues, said many of the families could not afford to pay a deposit on a new apartment because their former landlords had not returned money from a previous security deposit.
“They would not be able to get other housing,” she said. “We realized we had to look at a way to help fund the deposit.”