Congressman David Price speaks at Pritchard Avenue Apartments Open House
For CASA, the non-profit housing development agency hosting the dedication, Sandy was exactly the type of person they strive to serve. Since 1992, CASA has been an organization that believes in second chances, and has been putting these beliefs into action in Wake, Durham, and, most recently, Orange counties.
CASA’s mission is to provide quality affordable housing and opportunities for successful living to persons of low-wealth and to those with disabilities. For tenants like Sandy whose meager disability income of $664 per month does not even equal Chapel Hill’s fair market rent, a CASA apartment can mean the difference between successful living and homelessness. Sandy’s arrest record, though over ten years old and directly linked to her then-untreated mental illness, is another stumbling block that would disqualify her from many conventional rental properties.
CASA, or Community Alternatives for Supportive Abodes, has a simple formula for creating and maintaining affordable rental housing. The agency seeks construction and rehabilitation funding for a new project through federal, state, and local government channels. CASA then uses tenant rent and rental subsidies to cover project expenses, relying on government contracts and private donations to fill funding gaps. Most CASA tenants pay just 30% of their income towards rent, with a typical tenant paying around $150 per month. CASA’s 14 full-time and 8 part-time employees develop, manage, and maintain over 260 housing units throughout the Triangle.
Representative Verla Insko inspects a newly renovated kitchen at Pritchard Avenue Apartments
In Orange County, CASA has 30 properties scattered throughout Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough. Twenty were purchased from the Chrysalis Foundation for Mental Health when that agency had to close its doors in 2009. CASA celebrated the opening of 10 more units in October. The Pritchard Avenue Apartments consist of one-bedroom units specifically designed for and targeted to persons with disabilities or persons with a history of homelessness.
Chapel Hill community members celebrate the dedication of Pritchard Avenue Apartments
In Orange County, CASA tenants are connected to a variety of service providers, including Cross Disabilities Services (XDS), Freedom House, the UNC Step Program, Lutheran Family Services, and OPC. These agencies help tenants with basic life skills, counseling, and case management. CASA’s model of pairing stable, safe, permanent housing with supportive services often dramatically improves tenant outcomes in terms of decreased frequency or elimination of hospitalizations, arrests, mental health crises, and days of homelessness. These improved outcomes also benefit communities, who save money by avoiding the costs, financial and other, of incarceration, homeless shelter stays, and crisis interventions.
CASA’s rental housing is permanent – the average length of tenant stay is over 3 years, and many current tenants have been in their apartments for 10 years or more. Permanent housing allows tenants to engage with their neighbors, find employment with local businesses, and truly become a part of their community. For many CASA tenants, who have lived for much of their lives feeling isolated and different, being part of a community where they are treated just like everyone else is life-changing. CASA is proud to be a partner in making this possible.
