Cumberland County working with UNC Chapel Hill to create more affordable homes

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- Cumberland County has just been chosen for a UNC program aiming to bring more affordable housing to the area.

"We try to make the community vibrant and enjoyable for the families that we have here," said Carl Manning.

Manning spends his days developing affordable homes through his non-profit, Kingdom CDC (KCDC), a partner with Cumberland County. He said his passion for helping those who are struggling is what has driven his work through KCDC for the past 30 years.

"They need a hand up and there are opportunities out here for them. They just have to be able to identify their opportunities, find them, and take advantage of them because we have all of this available and we continue to build more," he said.

That need to continue to create more affordable homes throughout the region is why Cumberland County was chosen for UNC's "Our State, Our Homes" program. For the next 18 months, Cumberland is joining 22 North Carolina counties consulting with experts at UNC to broaden housing opportunities for those fighting to keep a roof over their heads.

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Organizers said there is a widespread need across the state, as UNC reports almost a third of households are spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing.

"The other thing is, which we saw across the state, was the aging housing stock," said Tye Vaught, the interim director of community development for Cumberland County. "And so with aging housing stock, it's not that just homes are just old, but you think about what goes into a house, asbestos-led, mold, those types of things."

The latest data from Fayetteville Metropolitan Housing Authority reports almost 100,000 White, Black, and Hispanic households are overspending on housing by more than 30 percent to in some cases more than 50 percent of their income. Manning and Vaught said they see these housing cost burdens in the community and hope the county's work with UNC will bring major solutions.

"We want to make sure that we are bringing in the resources," Vaught said, "Not leaving anything, leaving anything on the table that would impede a person being able to live, and live in a situation that provides them that safety and security."