We want $10 million in ARPA funds to be allocated as seed money for a Housing Trust Fund in Richland County. A key for a HTF to be effective is to have a dedicated source of revenue down the line, but we need seed money to get started. An Affordable Housing Trust Fund has the potential to create hundreds and even thousands of units of housing each year and that is what we need to make sure everyone in Richland County has a safe and affordable place to live.

“We show up with a demonstration of people power to get clear commitments from officials,” another speaker said. “Because people in our community need to make choices between paying for rent and paying for groceries because kids are being kicked out of a classroom because people are being gunned down in our streets.”

Faith-based community organizations in Columbia and Charleston are urging local leaders to consider establishing an Affordable Housing Trust Fund, a program that provides financial incentives for developers to build more affordable housing in a community.

In Columbia, Midlands Organized Response for Equity (MORE) and Justice draws members from more than 30 diverse religious congregations around the Midlands who meet regularly with each other and with local officials to address the problems of poverty and the need for access to health care and affordable housing.