Archive | Research + Publications

January Newsletter: CEF Art Show, We are Hiring, Laundry Packages Program

By Lauren Moore on 1/28/21 in General, Newsletters

Share the Love: Art Show 2021

You are invited!!

The annual CEF Art Show is back!

The Art Show is one of our annual events where the community comes together and appreciates the many talents that Members have. Our community has phenomenal artists, including wood artists, painters, poets, quilters, and musicians! Here at CEF we believe that everyone is creative, resourceful, and whole. We are so excited to help share the abundance of creativity in our community!

The pandemic has disrupted our ability to host the CEF Art Show in-person but don’t worry, we are moving it online. Please join us February 16, 2021 at 6pm EST for the free art show! Click here to register.

We hope to see you there!

Register To Attend

We are hiring!

The Cross Geography Staff Support position is a part-time position focused on supporting CEF’s Durham and Chapel-Hill, NC offices.

This is an in-person position, though some meetings may be attended remotely. This position will be responsible for providing a consistent and welcoming presence for Members and Advocates during office hours by staffing office hours, working one-on-one with Members in the office, and supporting the Office and Community Organizer with any duties to ensure COVID-19 and safety protocols are followed by staff, Advocates, and Members.

Click here to learn more and apply. Applications are due by February 12, 2021.

Apply Here

Support the Laundry Access Program

The Laundry Access Program is responsible for distributing laundry packages, which include quarters and laundry pods, for anyone living unsheltered in Orange County.

Since launching in November, 42 packages (84 loads of laundry) have been distributed and 28 individuals have participated with over a quarter of participants using the program more than once.

Our partnering organizations such as Street Outreach, IFC Community Kitchen, UNC Homelink, and CHPD Crisis Unit have communicated the continued need for this program.

To donate laundry detergent pods, please contact the Chapel Hill CEF Office at 919. 200. 0233.

Final Call for Summer 2021 Interns and Advocates

CEF Durham is hosting part-time and full-time internships this summer.

Part-Time interns will work paid in the Durham office at ~16 hours a week. Scheduling is flexible based on other responsibilities. Full-Time interns will work ~32-35 hours a week at $10/hr. Everyone is eligible to apply, including all current Advocates (regardless of time spent at CEF) and people who aren’t currently Advocates!

The CEF Durham internship begins May 24, 2021 and ends August 6, 2021. Learn more about the CEF Durham internship here and apply here. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis with a priority deadline of Friday, February 5, 2021.

If you are interested in getting involved with CEF sooner, CEF Durham is also accepting applications for the Spring 2021 Advocate Cohort. Learn more about being an Advocate and apply here!

Resources of the Month

Orange County Resource of the Month:

This month, Diiv would like to highlight the update to CDC’s national eviction moratorium. An Executive Order signed by President Joe Biden ordered the CDC to extend the moratorium through at least March 31. The order also extended restrictions on foreclosures with federally-backed mortgages through at least March 31.

These orders are in anticipation of congress passing additional COVID-19 relief. Once more updates are given by the federal government, we will be sharing them with the community.

Please click here learn more about these executive orders.

Durham County Resource of the Month:

This month, Debbie would like to highlight the update for NC COVID-19 vaccinations. There are two active groups who are able to receive vaccinations at the moment. Group 1 includes Health Care Workers and Long Term Care Staff and Residents. Group 2 includes anyone 65 years old or older, regardless of health status or living situation.

Please click here to learn more about the vaccinations and find sites where individuals in group 1 or 2 could get vaccinated.

Office Availability Updates

When are the offices open?

Both Durham and Chapel Hill Offices have slightly new hours starting in February! There will be no upcoming office closures in February. Any new updates regarding hours will be shared via email and social media.

CEF Durham’s Office Hours: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm & 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Monday – Thursday; 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Thursday; 1:00 pm – 3:00pm Friday

CEF Chapel Hill’s Office Hours: 10:00 am – 3:00 pm Monday – Thursday; 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Thursday

Can I still make a virtual appointment?

Yes! CEF Members with the capacity to meet through online video chat software (like Zoom, Skype, or Google Meet) or over the phone will be encouraged to continue with this option. You can specify this option when you call the office to make an appointment.

December Newsletter: Vigils of Remembrance, Holiday Campaign, Summer Interns

By Lauren Moore on 12/15/20 in General, Newsletters

Join CEF this week for Vigils of Remembrance

Honor and grieve those who are not going into the new year with us.

This year has been unpredictable and unsettling for many people. A lot of people we know and love have passed away during these uncertain times. CEF is hosting two vigils, one in Durham and one in Chapel Hill, to remember the lives lost.

Please join us, this Thursday (12/17) at 2634 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd at 3:30pm and/or this Friday (12/18) at 179 E Franklin St at 5:00pm. At both vigils, there will be an opportunity to share a song, message, or brief story to honor those who you have lost this year.

Masks and social distancing are required. Both events will be outside, please dress appropriately for the weather.

Thank you for continuing to support the 2020 CEF Holiday Campaign

We are $10,000 away from our goal! All donations made before the end of the year will be doubled! You can always donate at communityef.org/donate.

This year we have a Holiday Campaign goal of $66,500 to continue efforts of cultivating assets and opportunities to support CEF Members, especially during this time of economic uncertainty! Thanks to a generous group of CEF donors, your gift to CEF will be doubled through Dec 31, 2020 – up to $25,00!

Thanks to your generous donations, we have raised over $56,000! We appreciate your commitment to help sustain our work in the Durham and Orange County communities.

It is not too late to give. All donations made through December 31, 2020 will be matched! To be a part of our work for change, we invite you to share a financial contribution. All donations make a big impact and are appreciated greatly, please give at whatever amount feels meaningful to you!

Double My Donation

CEF is looking for Summer 2021 Interns and Advocates

Both CEF Offices are hosting part-time and full-time internships this summer. Part-Time interns will work unpaid at ~16 hours a week. Scheduling is flexible based on other responsibilities. Full-Time interns will work ~32-35 hours a week at $10/hr. Everyone is eligible to apply, including all current Advocates (regardless of time spent at CEF) and people who aren’t currently Advocates!

The CEF Chapel Hill internship begins June 1, 2021 and ends August 6, 2021. Learn more about the CEF Chapel Hill internship here and apply here. Applications are due by January 24, 2021.

If you are interested in getting involved with CEF sooner, CEF Durham is also accepting applications for the Spring 2021 Advocate Cohort. Learn more about being an Advocate and apply here!

Resources of the Month

Orange County Resource of the Month:

This month, Diiv is highlighting the Laundry Access Pilot. $500 in pilot funding was used for 58 separate Laundry Packages for distribution to anyone living unsheltered in Orange County. Since launching in November, 20 laundry packages have been distributed by our partners at the Street Outreach and Harm Reduction and Diversion (SOHRAD) Team and the Crisis Unit of the Chapel Hill PD. You can access laundry packages through any of the participating partner programs (which are listed on the flyer above) including our Chapel Hill office.

Durham County Resource of the Month:

This month, Debbie is highlighting End Hunger Durham. End Hunger Durham supports those in need of food by providing reliable information, networked collaborations, and advocacy for policies and initiatives aimed at ending poverty and hunger. Visit End Hunger Durham at this link for a searchable list of food pantries in Durham! You can search by zip code, times of service and call specific locations for more information.

Office Availability Updates

When are the offices open?

Both Durham and Chapel Hill Offices will have upcoming winter closures. The Durham Office will be closed Friday, Dec 18, 2020 – Friday, Jan 8, 2021. The Chapel Hill Office will be closed Wednesday, Dec 16, 2020 – Friday, Jan 8, 2021. Both offices will be closed Monday, Jan 18th, 2021.

Please be aware that during these closures, there will be limited ways to access mail and complete Safe Savings transactions. If you have any questions about these closures, please check-in with a CEF Staff Member.

In January, offices will resume their typical COVID-19 schedule:

CEF Durham’s Office Hours: 10:00 am -12:00 pm & 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Monday – Thursday; 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Thursday

CEF Chapel Hill’s Office Hours: 10:00 am – 3:00 pm Monday – Thursday

Can I still make a virtual appointment?

November Newsletter: CEF Appreciates Your Support!

By Lauren Moore on 11/27/20 in General, Newsletters

Thank you for making the first virtual Piggy Bank Bash a success!

Because of your donations, CEF was able to surpass our goal and raise $15,685.76!

With over 85 participants, some joining from as far away as the Virgin Islands, the Bash was a joyous celebration of all the things the CEF Community has accomplished in the past year, and will strive to accomplish in the upcoming year.

The CEF Advocacy Choir encouraged us to not give up despite the hard times we are enduring now and that “we look so much better when we smile.” Robert Watson, CEF Member, shared how comforting it has been working with Advocates through stressful situations. Executive Director, Donna Carrington, reminded us that under her leadership she hopes “CEF remains a place where members feel supported in their dreams and goals, that staff feels supported in wrestling with the values we hold dear, and the wider community sees CEF as a place to come to for information and resources.”

We are grateful for all who participated. It was a night full of stories, laughter, and unity.

And, we appreciate our sponsors for this event:GRUB Durham, The Center for Intentional Leadership, Rob Lammé and Associates, Evoke Studio, Pilot Benefits, and PNC.

It’s not too late to support CEF! Join the 2020 CEF Holiday Campaign!

All donations made before the end of the year will be doubled! You can always donate at communityef.org/donate.

With the appearance of COVID-19, this year has been unprecedented for CEF. Many CEF Members have had to pull money out of their Safe Savings Accounts in order to ensure that they will have financial security during this pandemic and CEF has adapted strict COVID-19 procedures to ensure CEF Members are getting the support they need while being safe.

This year we have a Holiday Campaign goal of $66,500 to continue efforts of cultivating assets and opportunities to support CEF Members! Thanks to a generous group of CEF donors, your gift to CEF will be doubled through Dec 31, 2020 – up to $25,000!

Our work is sustained by the generosity of individuals who believe in our mission, as well as foundations and corporations. We look to those we care about to help us sustain a growing, creative, and supportive community. To be a part of this change, we invite you to share a financial contribution.

All donations make a big impact and are appreciated greatly, please give at whatever amount feels meaningful to you!

We are collecting winter items for the CEF Community!

Inspired by the amazing Coat Drive organized by Lucas Risinger (Orange County Advocate) and Yvette Matthews (Orange County Office & Community Organizer), in partnership with Rumors NC and UNC SFI, CEF is continuing to collect new or gently used winter items for Members!

As it gets colder these items are essential, so please consider bringing in items to either office! Winter items include warm coats, sweaters, shirts, pants, scarves, gloves, etc… Please call the Orange County office at 919. 200. 0233 or the Durham County office at 919. 797. 9233 if you have any questions.

Keep in mind CEF office hours and scheduled winter closures (see below) when preparing to drop off items.

Resources of the Month

Orange County Resources of the Month:

This month, Diiv is highlighting the COVID-19 Move In Packages Program and the COVID-19 Transportation Program. These are programs by the Orange County Department of Housing and Community Development. These funds must be used by December 31st, 2020. The Move In Packages Program is a fund that can be used to buy items or services necessary to a participant’s housing stability since March 1, 2020. Eligible goods include furnishings, bedding, basic small appliances, cleaning supplies, etc… and eligible services include furniture delivery cost, moving truck rental, furniture or personal property storage. The Transportation Program is a fund that can be used for essential transportation cost related to a participant’s housing. Eligible transportation cost include public transportation pass, account credits for ride sharing mobile applications, etc… and eligible services include repairs to a participant’s vehicle and purchase of a bicycle. If you would like more information or need help accessing either of these programs please call CEF’s Orange County Office at 919. 200. 0233.

Durham County Resources of the Month:

This month, Debbie is highlighting the City of Durham – Water Hardship Fund and Fed Up! Political Food Distribution. The Water Hardship Fund by Durham County Department of Social Services exist to help residents pay past-due water bills. Through a simple online application, you can apply for up to $240 in assistance per year if you are having a documented hardship, have past-due bills, or are in danger of having your water cut off. Fed Up! Political Food Distribution by NC Poor People’s Campaign, Carolina Jews for Justice, and Raise Up NC is distributing produce boxes every other Friday in the Parking Lot at Lakewood Shopping Center. They will be there next Friday, 12/04!

Office Availability Updates

When are the offices open?

CEF Durham’s December Office Hours: 10:00 am -12:00 pm & 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Monday – Thursday; 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Thursday

CEF Chapel Hill’s December Office Hours: 10:00 am – 3:00 pm Monday – Thursday

Both Durham and Chapel Hill Offices will have winter closures due to volunteer unavailability. The Durham Office will be closed Friday, Dec 18, 2020 – Friday, Jan 8, 2021. The Chapel Hill Office will be closed Wednesday, Dec 16, 2020 – Monday, Jan 11, 2021.

Can I still make a virtual appointment?

October Newsletter: Celebrate CEF at the Piggy Bank Bash

By Ari Rosenberg on 10/23/20 in Newsletters

Join us for CEF’s annual Piggy Bank Bash on Monday, November 16 from 6:00-7:00 pm EST!

There are many reasons to attend the Piggy Bank Bash this year. Watch the video above to hear why Jessie Maxwell, CEF Board Member and Treasurer, is excited to join you as an MC at the Bash this year. In case Jessie isn’t compelling enough, here are an additional five reasons we hope you’ll join us:

Celebrate CEF’s new leadership and focus on centering voices of people with lived experience with homelessness and poverty.
Learn more about CEF’s innovative work in housing and economic justice.
Listen to songs by the CEF Advocacy Choir.
Hear from Members and Advocates about the importance of CEF in their lives.
Hang out with the CEF Community, near and far (a virtual bash means friends from all over the country, and world, can attend)

During a year that has been defined by social separation, CEF is excited to host a night where our community can come together to reconnect and celebrate together. It is time for joy!

This year, CEF redistributed almost $35,000 to Members through the Safe Savings Campaign, trained and worked with over 200 Advocates, and continued to safely meet and work with over 1,000 Members. The Bash is an opportunity to honor these, and other accomplishments made possible by the CEF community.

The Piggy Bank Bash is also an important fundraising occasion for CEF. The donations and sponsorships received from this event allow CEF to continue working with Members in Durham and Orange Counties to achieve financial stability, become securely housed, and find steady income.

You can reserve tickets for the Bash here.

While tickets for the event are free, all donations are warmly accepted as this is CEF’s annual fundraiser.

Donate Now

Staff Highlight: Tawana Brown and Debbie Long

Meet some of CEF’s new staff members:

Tawana Brown is the Growing Household Income Fellow in CEF’s Chapel Hill office. Her role focuses on strengthening CEF’s workforce development services, integrating CEF’s financial services into countywide initiatives, and directly supporting Members.

Debbie Long is the Member Services Coordinator in Durham. Debbie plays an important role in many of CEF’s partnership-building efforts, ensures equitable program implementation for Members, and provides supervisory support for Member-led advocacy initiatives.

To learn more about them and their work, check out this Staff Highlight blog post!

Resource Request!

Support Members by donating single-use laundry pods!

The Chapel Hill office is asking the CEF community to donate single-use laundry pods, e.g. Tide Pods, to distribute to Members. Your donations will help stretch funding to support Members’ laundry needs. For more information about what is needed or how to drop off donations, email Chapel Hill’s Member Services Coordinator Diiv Sternman at diivs@communityef.org.

Thank you for your contributions!

November Office Hours

Chapel Hill (Nov 2-13): 10:00 am – 3:00 pm Monday – Thursday

Durham (Nov 2-13): 10:00 am -12:00 pm & 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Monday – Thursday; 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Thursday

From November 16-20, hours will be based on Advocate availability–please call the office to make an appointment. Both offices will be closed November 23-27 and will reopen on November 30.

Members must schedule appointments in advance–meetings can take place in-person, over the phone, or using a video software (such as Zoom, Skype, or Google Meet). Please specify your preference when you call to make your appointment.

Debbie and Diiv’s Resources of the Month

Durham County Resource of the Month:

This month, Debbie is highlighting Durham Drives’ Free Ride to the Polls. This organization is offering free rides to voting locations for all Durham residents. To schedule a ride, visit durhamdrives.org or call (919) 809-9242. If you would like to volunteer with Durham Drives, sign up on their website!

Orange County Resource of the Month:

This month, Diiv is highlighting Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness’ new Street Outreach, Harm Reduction, and Deflection Program. The program, which began operations on October 19, will focus on working with unhoused people to connect them with resources like medical care, housing programs, and therapeutic services, and liaison with entities within the criminal justice system to ensure that harm reduction deflection is being applied equitably and with trauma-informed, evidence-based best practices. Program staff will be actively going into the Orange County community to connect with and support people experiencing homelessness. This new program is a great resource for local unhoused folks.

September Newsletter: Supporting and Engaging with CEF!

By Ari Rosenberg on 9/22/20 in Newsletters

Fun Ways to Support CEF!

CEF is partnering with two local businesses to uplift our work, and potentially fund our services. To make the most of these partnerships, CEF needs your support!

Vote for CEF in the Campaign for Local: Community Nonprofit Advertising Fund!

This competition will decide which local organization will receive free advertising on 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com. If chosen as the winner, CEF will use these funds to publicize our services, attract attention to the upcoming Piggy Bank Bash, and grow the CEF community. Please vote for CEF here. You can vote multiple times a day between now and September 25. We can’t win without your help.

LocoPops is hosting a Give Back Day to benefit CEF !

On Monday, September 28, LocoPops will donate 10% of pre-tax revenue from online sales to CEF! This Give Back Day is the perfect opportunity to enjoy delicious pops and ice cream, support a local business, and benefit CEF. Place your order on September 28 for pickup or delivery on Tuesday, September 29. Order online here!

CEF Board Co-Chair Brian Smith Invites You to the 2020 Piggy Bank Bash!

CEF ‘s annual Piggy Bank Bash will be held on Monday, November 16 from 6:00-7:00 pm EST!

The Piggy Bank Bash is an opportunity for people new to CEF to learn more about our work, our values, and the communities we work with, and for CEF’s growing community of Advocates, Members, donors, and staff to come together and build deeper relationships. This year’s event will be held virtually, and CEF is excited that community members from all over the country and world will be able to participate. As in past years, the Bash will include songs by the CEF Advocacy Choir, door prizes, and opportunities to hear directly from Members, Advocates, and staff.

While tickets for the event are free, all donations are greatly appreciated as this is CEF’s annual fundraiser. You can register for the Bash here. To make a donation, click here or text the code ‘PIGGY’ to 44-321.

Learning About the Racial Wealth Gap

A 2016 survey of the U.S. showed that the median wealth of white families was 10 times greater than that of households of color. Check out CEF’s newest blog post about what the racial wealth gap is, how it came to be, and how it can be addressed, there is even a game to demonstrate how individual choices can perpetuate the racial wealth gap.

October Office Hours

CEF Chapel Hill’s October Office Hours: 10:00 am – 3:00 pm Monday – Thursday

CEF Durham’s October Office Hours: 10:00 am -12:00 pm & 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Monday – Thursday; 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Thursday

CEF Members with the capacity to meet through online video chat software (like Zoom, Skype, or Google Meet) or over the phone are encouraged to continue with this option. You can specify this option when you call the office to make an appointment.

For consistent updates about CEF’s office hours, check out this document.

We’re Hiring!

CEF is looking for an Office and Community Organizer for the Durham Office.

Applications are due by October 5, 2020.

This position is responsible for bottom-lining office operations in the Durham office and connecting CEF Members to community organizing opportunities. The Office and Community Organizer creates a welcoming, healing centered office environment that emphasizes each person as creative, resourceful, and whole.

For more information and application instructions please visit www.communityef.org/hiring

Debbie and Diiv’s Resource of the Month

This month, CEF’s Member Services Coordinators Debbie and Diiv each choose a resource to highlight in the geography they work in.

For Durham County, Debbie is highlighting the Fed Up Food Distribution program and political organizing effort coordinated by NC Poor People’s Campaign, Carolina Jews for Justice, and Raise Up NC. If you are interested in receiving grocery delivery to your home every two weeks or want to volunteer, call 919-797-9233.

For Orange County, Diiv is highlighting a free COVID-19 testing opportunity. You can go and get tested for free every Wednesday from 10 am – 2 pm at 725 M.L.K. Jr. Boulevard, Chapel Hill, NC 27516. There is no need to pre-register for a test. The results of the test are usually available in 3 days and will be communicated via text.

August Newsletter: Ways to Connect with CEF

By Ari Rosenberg on 8/15/20 in Newsletters

Save the Date for the 2020 Piggy Bank Bash!

CEF ‘s annual Piggy Bank Bash will take place virtually on Monday, November 16 from 6:00-7:00 pm EST!

Please join CEF to celebrate the accomplishments the CEF community has made during 2020. The Piggy Bank Bash is an opportunity for people new to CEF to learn more about our work, our values, and the communities we work with and for CEF’s growing community of Advocates, Members, donors, and staff to come together and build deeper relationships. This event will include songs by the CEF Advocacy Choir and testimonials from Members and Advocates about the importance of CEF in their lives.

While tickets for the event are free, all donations are greatly appreciated as this is CEF’s annual fundraiser. You can register for this event here. To make a donation, click here or text the code ‘PIGGY’ to 44-321.

Time + Talents Podcast

CEF’s Durham Office is excited to bring you the Time + Talents Podcast!

Time + Talents is CEF’s Member-driven advocacy platform in Durham. Due to the pandemic, Durham’s Office and Community Organizer Rosa Green arranged this podcast as a way to continue bringing information and resources to CEF Members while observing social distancing. The topic of each episode is chosen by Member feedback; the first episode of the podcast focuses on various matters related to housing. Advocates Lily Levin and Lizzy Kramer host the podcast and interviewed a Member, CEF’s Housing Access Coordinator, a Duke professor, and an Assistant Director for Durham’s Aging and Adult Services. Check out the episode here for a great conversation about evictions, renter’s rights, and local resources.

Give Back Day with LocoPops!

On Monday, September 28, LocoPops will donate 10% of pre-tax revenue from online sales to CEF!

Give Back Day is the perfect opportunity to enjoy delicious pops and ice cream, support a local business, and benefit CEF. Place your order on September 28 for pickup or delivery on Tuesday, September 29. Order online here!

September Office Hours

After the breaks each office took during August, CEF is excited to be open for the month of September!

Chapel Hill’s September Office Hours:

10:00 am – 3:00 pm Monday – Friday

5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Thursday

Durham’s September Office Hours:

10:00 am -12:00 pm & 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Monday – Thursday

5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Thursday

For consistent updates about CEF’s office hours, check out this document.

Debbie and Diiv’s Resources of the Month

This month, CEF’s Member Services Coordinators Debbie and Diiv each choose a resource to highlight in the geography they work in.

For Durham County, Debbie is highlighting an opportunity to get a free COVID-19 test at White Rock Baptist Church on Saturday, August 22 from 10:00 am-1:00 pm. The church is located at 3400 Fayettevilee Stree, Durham, NC 27707. To learn more, visit onsms.org/durham.

For Orange County, Diiv is highlighting the Orange County Eviction Diversion Program. This program helps fight evictions by providing legal help and emergency housing assistance funds to people who qualify. To see if you qualify, call 919-245-2655 between 12:00 pm and 4:00 pm Monday through Friday or 12:00 am to 6:00 am Sunday through Thursday.

The Knowledge Series

By CEF Advocate on 7/30/20 in General, Housing, Research + Publications, Written By Advocates

The Knowledge Series is a project dedicated to sharing information with our communities on how housing discrimination manifests today. Throughout this week, we will share a series of posts that delve into the history of housing discrimination and what it looks like in our everyday.

Please read our previous posts: Part 1, Part 2, & Part 3.

Part 4: Why do these systems continue to exist?

Systemic housing discrimination is still present in modern-day. While it is illegal to discriminate against someone based on race, Black families are still negatively impacted by discriminatory practices, both past and present. When discriminatory practices are used, ending those practices is not enough for people to experience equity–reparations must be made to repair the harms that have been caused. Since the United States has not participated in reparations for Black families, they are still experiencing extreme disparities, especially in housing and financial security.

We’ve discussed in previous posts that Black people make up 51% of the homeless population in Orange County, while only making up 12% of the general population. American slavery and systemic racism, backed by Jim Crow laws, set Black communities back hundreds of years in their attempts to accumulate wealth and assets. Laws throughout the South mandated racial segregation in almost all public facets and denied Black people basic civil, economic, and social rights, including the right to vote. This continued through the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s (and some would say still continues today), making the idea of property ownership and asset accrual for Black families nearly unattainable (“Jim Crow Era,” 2020).

These historical elements, as well as more modern practices such as redlining, white* flight, and gentrification, have had a substantial impact in our own backyard. The wealth that Black communities were able to generate in places like Durham, was systematically taken from them throughout the 20th century through such practices. Additionally, the Northside District of Chapel Hill has been heavily gentrified by UNC students in search of off-campus housing.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was built by enslaved Black people who were exploited for their labor. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Black employees of the university were funneled to the Northside District because it was one of the least proximate areas to campus at the time (DeWulf, 2017). Northside has been a predominantly Black neighborhood for 175 years, but it is now experiencing gentrification as UNC students seek affordable off-campus housing.

Off-campus living has become increasingly popular for college students in Chapel Hill (with 50% of UNC students currently living off-campus). Many students moved to the Northside District specifically for its relatively affordable rental prices. Furthermore, as the university has grown in geographic size, the Northside District is now comparatively closer to campus than many other off-campus housing options (Cheek, 2017). Nearby Carrboro, also being heavily gentrified, has many high-quality restaurants, thrift stores, and boutiques that add additional appeal for college students. The interest in off-campus housing has driven up rent prices throughout the Chapel Hill-Carrboro community, as landlords see no issue with charging college students above-market rents and has pushed Black residents out of the Northside, a reduction of 60% between 1980 and 2010 (DeWulf, 2017).

As Northside becomes more and more “desirable,” middle-class families have also moved into the area. This further isolates longterm residents of the Northside District from their own community. Since white families moving into neighborhoods like Northside make, on average, two times what Black families make, they are more likely to take advantage of low property costs in historically Black neighborhoods in order to buy homes (Badger et al., 2019). Many of these families renovate their new homes, increasing property values, which leads to increased taxes for entire neighborhoods (Badger et al., 2019). As other middle-class families (typically white) see families that look like them and nice-looking houses they are more likely to purchases homes in the same neighborhood, further gentrifying the area.

Durham, as we discussed yesterday, has also been deeply impacted by housing discrimination. Specifically, the impact of redlining on Black communities in Durham has led to long-lasting disparities for Black neighborhoods. In the 1950s-70s, a phenomenon known as white flight occurred throughout the U.S. This was a process of white people moving out of urban areas, particularly those with significant Black and Brown populations, and into suburban areas, in an attempt to distance themselves from communities of color. White flight causes areas to suffer economically from reduced tax income (due to population losses) and also contributes to harsh policies (Semuels, 2015).

In recent years, Durham’s downtown has also been impacted by gentrification as it has become host to many luxury stores, critically-acclaimed restaurants, and crafty boutiques. When businesses like these move into an area they make it difficult for residents who have lived there for decades to keep up with the rapidly increasing cost of living. The practice of gentrification throughout Chapel Hill, Durham, and the rest of the Triangle, has made housing inequality and segregation even worse (DeMarco and Hunt, 2018).

Black people in the United States face racism every day, but it is often overlooked that racism is deeply ingrained in the housing search process. Things like credit checks, background checks, reference letters, and requiring multiple months of rent upfront disproportionately and negatively affect Black people in their housing search. When you throw in systemic barriers and racist practices, like redlining and gentrification, it imposes a greater hardship on low-income and communities of color. Discriminatory housing practices like redlining and gentrification may not seem racist at face value, but hopefully, the posts in this Series have provided some context to the deeply systemic racial barriers that have plagued Black families in their goals of financial independence and housing security for hundreds of years.

Join us tomorrow for some insight into the work CEF is currently doing and to hear why our mission is so important. CEF is actively working to provide resources to Members experiencing homelessness and/or financial hardship and to dismantle oppressive policies and practices that create a cyclical experience of poverty and housing insecurity for Black people and other people of color. This advocacy work, along with continued education among Staff and Advocates, helps us provide the best support for people experiencing homelessness and financial insecurity in Orange and Durham counties.

*In general, CEF uses APA grammar rules in our writing. The APA says that the names of race and ethnic identities should be capitalized, as they are proper nouns. For this series, and moving forward, CEF is intentionally leaving “white” (when referring to a racial identity) lower-cased. We recognize that by capitalizing words we are giving them power and we do not want to encourage white power in any way. Unlike the AP’s explanation for why they are choosing to lower-case “white” we want to be clear that we believe white people do have a shared experience–that is one of privilege. We also believe that undoing racism is the responsibility of white people and worry that implying that white people do not have a shared experience (as the AP does) is a dangerous tactic that is aimed at discounting the responsibility that white people have in undoing racism and white supremacist culture. Ultimately, we know that race is a construct but that racial differences are not. They are real and need to be addressed directly. For any questions or clarifications around CEF’s choice of words please contact ari rosenberg (arir[at]communityef.org).

Badger, E., Bui, Q., & Gebeloff, R. (2019, April 27). The Neighborhood is Mostly Black. The Homebuyers Are Mostly White. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/04/27/upshot/diversity-housing-maps-raleigh-gentrification.html?searchResultPosition=1

Cheek, S. (2017, April 6). Competition for housing helps drive Chapel Hill rent up to highest in state. The Daily Tar Heel. https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2017/04/increase-in-chapel-hill-rent-prices-driven-by-competition-for-housing

De Marco, A., & Hunt, H. (2018). Racial Inequality, Poverty and Gentrification in Durham, North Carolina. North Carolina Poverty Research Fund. https://fpg.unc.edu/sites/fpg.unc.edu/files/resources/reports-and-policy-briefs/durham_final_web.pdf

DeWulf, S. (2017, March 2). Saving Northside, the largest black community in Chapel Hill. Omnibus. http://mejo457.web.unc.edu/2017/03/saving-northside-the-largest-black-community-in-chapel-hill/

Jim Crow Era. A Brief History of Civil Rights in the United States. (2020, July 28). Georgetown Law Library. https://guides.ll.georgetown.edu/c.php?g=592919&p=4172697

Semuels, A. (2015, July 30). White Flight Never Ended. The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/07/white-flight-alive-and-well/399980/

The Knowledge Series

By CEF Advocate on 7/29/20 in General, Housing, Research + Publications, Written By Advocates

The Knowledge Series is a project dedicated to sharing information with our communities on how housing discrimination manifests today. Throughout this week, we will share a series of posts that delve into the history of housing discrimination and what it looks like in our everyday.

Please read Parts 1 and 2 of the Series.

Part 3: Where does this manifest today?

In our last blog post, we briefly discussed the historical roots of American racism, white supremacy, and how it relates to the current wealth gap between white* and Black families. In this post, we’ll discuss the relationship between racism, white supremacy, and housing inequality in the U.S. today.

In the 1930s, the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) began rating communities based on economic and housing factors. These rankings were used to determine eligibility for mortgages, dictating who could and could not buy property in these neighborhoods. The effects of these ratings were astronomical, as poor communities (often primarily composed of Black families) were generally given poorer rankings, families in these neighborhoods were unable to obtain mortgages to purchase homes. The rankings from the HOLC have had long-lasting impacts. Today, almost 64% of communities rated “Hazardous” by the HOLC, remain largely composed of people of color (Mitchell & Franco, 2018). Furthermore, these communities are still experiencing the impacts of the economic discrimination that ensued following the HOLC’s racist community rankings. 85.82% of neighborhoods ranked “Best” by the HOLC are still majority white (Mitchell & Franco, 2018).

These rankings have had lasting impacts. In Durham, for example, between 2007-2014 almost four times more trees were planted in “Best” neighborhoods compared to “Hazardous” neighborhoods (De Marco & Hunt, 2018). In addition to providing beauty, trees increase residential property values and are often a sign of better-maintained neighborhoods.

The More You Know: The HOLC’s Hold Hits Close to Home
A Durham Case Study
Literature Review: Racial Inequality, Poverty and Gentrification in Durham, North Carolina
Allison De Marco & Heather Hunt, Summer 2018

The practice of redlining was defined by the HOLC’s rankings of largely-Black communities as “less safe” and therefore having a “lower lending ability.” These communities were rated as “Hazardous,” considered the riskiest for lenders, and colored red on maps. Although the HOLC outwardly described their ratings as based in economics, they intentionally redlined historically Black communities to prevent investment in those communities.
The HOLC said that the rankings were to determine “creditworthiness using a range of criteria, including race, immigration status, and class.” In Durham, the redlined neighborhoods most closely corresponded with Black, rather than poor, neighborhoods, indicating that not all factors were weighed evenly. At the time, Durham had a thriving Black business community and not all of the redlined communities were poor.
Regardless, they were still redlined by the HOLC’s rankings, written off as the least desirable communities to invest in. This made it immediately difficult for families to either move out of or invest in these communities, as their address was commonly a deal-breaker in applying for loans and mortgages.
The HOLC effectively worked to dismantle the successful economic systems that Black residents had miraculously built for themselves in Durham. Redlining stifled economic development and doomed communities to a cycle of poverty and racial housing segregation. Though Black Durhamites had created ways to build wealth and obtain land and homes, these communities were then stripped of the wealth-building opportunities they had diligently curated for themselves. Several redlined neighborhoods in Durham are still in a cycle of poverty, as residents are unable to accrue the wealth necessary to move or invest in the community. Although the HOLC is no longer in use, the negative effects are still being felt by Black families today.

Eventually, even heavily segregated urban neighborhoods became undesirable for many white families. Instead, white families chose to leave cities and move to areas on the outskirts of major metropolitan areas, known as suburbs. This process, known as “white flight” or suburbanization, led to an incredible amount of divestment from cities–affecting everything from schools to infrastructure. Black families often lacked the resources needed to move to the suburbs, forcing them to remain in communities that could no longer support their basic needs. This made home and land ownership even more difficult to obtain as banks did not want to invest in dwindling cities.

Soon, the suburbs got old for white families too. Upon moving back into cities, white families decided to aesthetically beautify them by putting in lavish patisseries, designer boutiques, fancy restaurants, and new, more expensive apartment buildings. This is the modern process of gentrification and has further increased housing disparities between Black and white communities. Many Black families cannot always afford the increased property values and, therefore, increased taxes associated with gentrification and are forced to sell their homes because they can no longer afford to stay in their neighborhood.

Durham and Chapel Hill have been so heavily gentrified by white, middle-class college students and families, that the homelessness rate has grown over the past 5 years, despite direct efforts to lower the rate. Tomorrow we will dive into how these systems directly manifest in Orange County and Durham. We will work to better understand how redlining, white flight, and gentrification have taken hold in modern communities and how Black families have been disproportionately affected.

Mitchell, B., & Franco, J. (2018, March 20). HOLC “Redlining” Maps: The Persistent Structure Of Segregation And Economic Inequality. National Community Reinvestment Coalition. https://ncrc.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2018/02/NCRC-Research-HOLC-10.pdf

The Knowledge Series

By CEF Advocate on 7/28/20 in General, Housing, Research + Publications, Written By Advocates

The Knowledge Series is a project dedicated to sharing information with our communities on how housing discrimination manifests today. Throughout this week, we will share a series of posts that delve into the history of housing discrimination and what it looks like in our everyday.

You can find Part 1 of the Series here.

Part 2: When did this start?

In this post, we hope to illustrate a more detailed picture of the birth of American racism, and how its powerful influence has shaped both historical and modern American institutions. The United States has never been “the land of the free” – the enslavement of Africans, as well as Indigenous people, was common practice in this country from its beginnings.

In late August of 1619, the first ship carrying captured peoples from African lands anchored at Point Comfort along the James River in Virginia. These seized individuals were sold into slavery and the practice of enslaving captured Africans quietly grew through custom, rather than by law, throughout the American colonies. By the 18th century, slavery was widespread throughout the Southeast and much of the Northeast. When the majority of the Northeastern United States outlawed the practice of enslaving people in 1804, the divide between the American North and South only furthered. The North came to view slavery as the morally corrupt institution it was (this did not negate their own everyday racism), creating tension with southern states, who relied on free enslaved labor to maintain their economy.

The conditions that enslaved Africans and African Americans were subject to were despicable. As they crossed the Middle Passage, captured Africans were bound by chains on top of one another, sitting in their own urine and feces for days without being fed. Once in America, many enslaved people killed themselves and their families to escape slavery. It speaks volumes that many enslaved people chose to die, or were willing to die, to escape the conditions of their lives. Black people who were enslaved were brutalized by plantation owners, they worked nearly all day, and were kept in dingy and broken housing units. Many chose to make the tumultuous journey to escape enslavement by fleeing northward during the 19th Century. But, this did not always lead to freedom.

Fast forward through the Civil War, which was about the institution of American slavery (specifically, the South’s “right” to maintain their economy, that needed enslaved labor to survive). While slavery was legally abolished in the U.S. in 1865, the South maintained inherently racist and exclusionary policies that kept Black people from both advancing economically and participating in civic life. Jim Crow Laws, voter registration policies, and internalized racism led to continued economic discrimination and physical, verbal, and emotional violence towards Black people at the hands of white* people.

Black people in the U.S., though legally “free,” were still confined and unable to have the same freedoms as whites. Directly following the Civil War, Black men were often only able to find work as sharecroppers, renting plots of land in exchange for a portion of their crops and revenue. Free Black men were often treated unfairly and conned out of resources and profits. Black people were also prevented from participating in public education, creating big discrepancies in literacy and understanding math–greatly impacting their ability to find employment outside of manual labor and their ability to understand finances. Additionally, Black people were prevented from buying their own land due to white supremacist laws and explicitly racist and exclusionary wealth-building policies. These discriminatory practices made it almost impossible for Black families to accumulate wealth at the same levels as white families. And, for those who were successful at building wealth (many, many Black families were very successful at building wealth despite all of the racist laws and people trying to hold them back), there were countless setbacks–including having money and property literally stolen, beatings, fires, and murder (For specific examples, please visit these sites: Freedmen’s Savings and Trust Company, Tulsa Race Massacre, Dismantling Hayti in Durham).

Throughout the 1970s and into the 21st century, practices like “white flight” and gentrification made it difficult for Black families to access safe and affordable housing and effectively attempted to bar Black people from building wealth in the same ways as their white counterparts, through land and property ownership. Property ownership, as well as free labor, have always been the quickest ways to accumulate wealth in the capitalist system which the U.S. subscribes to.

Having assets that can be leveraged increases access to capital and makes it easier to continue to accumulate assets. Imagine one person being able to do this for 400 years, while another can’t. What would be the difference in their wealth accumulation? In 2017, the Survey of Consumer Finances released data showing that the difference in median wealth between Black and white families was striking, $17,600 compared to $171,000–meaning Black families’ median net worth is about 10% of white families (Dettling et al., 2017).

When we consider this history, along with the disproportionate stats we discussed in Part 1 of The Knowledge Series, we begin to see how historical systems manifest in modern-day. Policies and practices in the late 19th and 20th centuries made it extremely difficult for Black families to build and accrue wealth and have led to racial housing discrimination and segregation today. Come back tomorrow to learn more about racialized housing discrimination and why the primary residence ownership for Black families is 28% lower than white families (Dettling et al., 2017).

Dettling, L., Hsu, J., Jacobs, L., Moore, K. & Thompson, J. (2017, September 27). Recent Trends in Wealth-Holding by Race and Ethnicity: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances. The Federal Reserve. https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/recent-trends-in-wealth-holding-by-race-and-ethnicity-evidence-from-the-survey-of-consumer-finances-20170927.htm

The Knowledge Series

By CEF Advocate on 7/27/20 in General, Housing, Research + Publications, Story, Written By Advocates

The Knowledge Series is a project dedicated to sharing information with our communities on how housing discrimination manifests today. Throughout this week, we will share a series of posts that delve into the history of housing discrimination and what it looks like in our everyday.

Part 1: Who is affected by homelessness?

Every year in the U.S., communities receiving funding from the McKinney-Vento Act (a U.S. policy that provides federal funds for homeless shelters and other homelessness programs) are required to hold a Point-in-Time (PIT) count in the last week of January to tally all sheltered and unsheltered individuals experiencing homelessness in their area. Data from the most recent PIT counts show there are a projected 9,268 people experiencing homelessness throughout North Carolina. In 2019, the PIT count in Orange County revealed that 131 individuals experienced homelessness on any given night. In the City of Durham, the PIT count revealed 338 individuals experienced homelessness every day in the city.

These numbers are disheartening because at CEF we believe that housing and financial security are human rights. Unfortunately, these rights have not been previously available for many Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). Today, Black folx are still discriminated against in the housing and employment processes at greater numbers than any other racial group. In taking a deeper look at PIT count data, the numbers show us explicitly that Black people in the U.S. face racial and systemic barriers to obtaining housing and financial security.

Of the 131 individuals experiencing homelessness in Orange County, 51% are Black, despite making up only 12% of the population. Of the 338 homeless in Durham, 78.6% are Black, while making up only 37% of the population. These outrageously disproportionate percentages of homelessness for Black residents of Orange County and the City of Durham are a clear example of the systemic racism which has historically and explicitly barred Black families from accruing wealth through property ownership. The systems which discriminate against Black folx still have a significant impact on communities today, because of the generational trauma garnered through slavery, the Jim Crow South, and the still ever-present institutional racism which is inevitable in a society whose institutions were founded by and for white* men, and only white men.

Come back tomorrow for a blog post diving more deeply into these historical policies and systems which have created modern-day disparities which we must address. We will discuss the historical impacts of slavery and the further, blatant discrimination that Black people in the U.S. faced at the hands of Jim Crow laws in the South. Flowing into modern 20th and 21st century American history, we will use these historical structures to analyze and understand how these systems still create vast disparities for Black folx in the housing and financial sectors.

NC Coalition to End Homelessness. (2019, May). 2019 Homelessness in North Carolina. https://www.ncceh.org/media/files/files/7bd752c5/2019-nc-pit-infographic.pdf
Root, Corey. (2019, April ). Homelessness in Orange County. Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness. https://www.ocpehnc.com/point-in-time-count-data

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The Knowledge Series is a project dedicated to sharing information with our communities on how housing discrimination manifests today. Throughout this week, we will share a series of posts that delve into the history of housing discrimination and what it looks like in our everyday.

Part 4: Why do these systems continue to exist?

The Knowledge Series is a project dedicated to sharing information with our communities on how housing discrimination manifests today. Throughout this week, we will share a series of posts that delve into the history of housing discrimination and what it looks like in our everyday.

Part 3: Where does this manifest today?

The Knowledge Series is a project dedicated to sharing information with our communities on how housing discrimination manifests today. Throughout this week, we will share a series of posts that delve into the history of housing discrimination and what it looks like in our everyday.

Part 2: When did this start?

The Knowledge Series is a project dedicated to sharing information with our communities on how housing discrimination manifests today. Throughout this week, we will share a series of posts that delve into the history of housing discrimination and what it looks like in our everyday.

Part 1: Who is affected by homelessness?

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