Photo: E Henderson
No one should ever have to worry about losing their home. But in Guilford County, North Carolina, 16,000 households face eviction annually. Sometimes, these evictions result from just a couple hundred dollars in unpaid rent or rent that is overdue by only a few days.
Last year, AFSC’s North Carolina Program launched the Keep Gate City Housed campaign to prevent evictions and help people stay in their homes. We organized with community members to advocate for city funding for rental assistance as well as for a free legal resource program known as Tenant Education Advocacy Mediation (TEAM).
Our efforts were successful. Greensboro City Council approved nearly $2 million to expand rental assistance and legal services for people facing eviction. The victory came after months of organizing and advocacy by AFSC, partners, and community members who were at risk of eviction. Here’s how we made that happen.
In the fall of 2023, AFSC began studying the challenges renters face in North Carolina. AFSC North Carolina staff CC Crawford and Terrell Dungee spoke with housing experts and elected officials, researched North Carolina’s housing conditions and eviction policies among states, and opened a dialogue about how Guilford County could better prevent housing emergencies.
AFSC also supported the University of North Carolina Greensboro, which operates TEAM. In eviction court, only 10% of those households have legal counsel, while 90% of landlords are represented by attorneys. TEAM provides renters with free legal representation, mediation services, and help applying for rental assistance.
Earlier this year, AFSC launched the Keep Gate City Housed Campaign in direct response to the challenges North Carolina renters face. Our goal was to raise awareness among community members about the TEAM program and build support for city funding for this vital resource in the 2024 Greensboro City Council budget. Our organizing and advocacy efforts involved tenants, homeowners, landlords, local Quakers, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greensboro, and longtime community partner Guilford for All.
“In this campaign, we were able to see in real time that the people of Guilford County care about their neighbors and are willing to organize and speak out for them to be able to stay in their homes,” shared CC, AFSC North Carolina program director. “We all understand that evictions make us all less safe, and the city and county must invest in a strategy to Keep Gate City Housed.”
CC and Terrell developed an extensive outreach plan, working with volunteers to canvass door-to-door in neighborhoods throughout Greensboro. Terrell even designed old-school pledge cards to hand out, encouraging neighbors to join the Keep City Housed campaign in pressuring City Council to:
- Allocate $440,000 for expansion of the TEAM program.
- Contribute $1.5 million to a rental assistance fund for families fighting evictions.
- Supply tenants with information about TEAM in court summons.
Leading up to the city’s budget proceedings in May and June, AFSC organized 22 “eviction court watches” during which 17 campaign volunteers attended and documented eviction court proceedings. They collected data and identified patterns in how individual cases were handled. These watches provided valuable insight into the realities of the legal system, which we shared with policymakers and the public in our advocacy efforts.
AFSC staff and campaign volunteers also attended a series of budget town hall meetings and held delegations to city council members. People courageously shared their stories of struggling to pay rent and facing eviction. They emphasized how funding for rental assistance and free legal help could make a world of difference to many residents. Their testimonies moved public officials, persuading two city councilors to become champions for our campaign’s funding goals.
On June 18, our efforts paid off. The Greensboro City Council approved the $440,000 for TEAM and $1.47 million fund for rental assistance—a historic win for tenants in Guilford County.
This victory is one example of what community members can accomplish when they come together to advocate for the good of all. Because of our collective efforts, many more Greensboro residents will get the help they need to prevent evictions and stay in their homes.
But our Keep Gate City Housed campaign isn’t done yet. We plan to build on this momentum and continue to engage community members to make powerful change in North Carolina in the months ahead.
Read more about Keep City Housed in this Spectrum News story.
