Cumberland County is considering a voucher program to address homelessness

Cumberland County is considering a new way to help people experiencing homelessness.

The Homeless Prevention and Stabilization Voucher Program would cover up to three months of rent and a security deposit equal to one month’s rent. The vouchers would also provide a one-time payment of up to $500 toward an electric, water or gas bill, and up to seven nights at a motel if no other shelter is available. 

And they would also cover up to $300 toward transportation to stable housing. County staff are working on including FAST bus passes and ride-share options like Lyft and Uber in the program, Tye Vaught, Cumberland County chief of staff, told CityView.

“This pilot is one step in a broader continuum of work the county is advancing to address homelessness,” Vaught said. “We are pursuing both immediate responses, like this voucher program, and long-term strategies such as permanent supportive housing and expanded partnerships with community providers.”

The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners could decide on Aug. 25 whether to spend $250,000 of pandemic-era federal funds for the program. Commissioners agreed last November to spend the money on the Phoenix Place, the county’s permanent supportive housing development. Vaught said other funding sources ultimately supported that development, allowing the county to shift the money to a voucher program.

Vaught said the need for such a program became clear after the Salvation Army of the Sandhills’ Fayetteville homeless shelter closed in April and the Regency Inn, a motel in downtown Fayetteville that housed low-income residents, closed in June. Together, the closures displaced over 150 people. 

Those displaced by the closures, pregnant women, families with children and individuals with disabilities would receive priority for the vouchers, according to the program’s proposed guidelines. 

Residents would have to be referred to the program by the Fayetteville-Cumberland County Continuum of Care (CoC), a homelessness prevention and intervention referral organization that is partnered with the City of Fayetteville and the county, to be considered for a voucher.

To be eligible for the program, residents would have to live in Cumberland County and demonstrate a plan for achieving housing stability.

They would also have to meet the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s definition of what it means to be homeless — someone “who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence.” Or they must be at risk of homelessness, meaning they lacked an overnight residence within 14 days and have no resources to obtain other housing. They also must meet the low- to moderate-income thresholds, which for a single person means making $42,200 or less per year. 

“We are trying to put in place as many things as possible to help with the [homelessness] crisis here in Cumberland County,” Veronica Jones, vice chair of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners, said following the voucher program proposal presentation on Aug. 14. “I know that voucher programs do work.” 

Vaught told commissioners on Aug. 14 that the program’s funding would likely last between three and six months, providing a pilot period to determine its effectiveness. He said he would return to the board once the funds are exhausted with a report on the program’s impact. 

Metrics to determine the program’s success are still being finalized, Vaught told CityView. He said they will likely include the number of residents assisted, the speed with which vouchers were processed, how effectively vouchers stabilized a resident’s housing, and whether the program fills critical gaps in the county’s existing housing support services. 

“While no single initiative is the full solution, the voucher pilot represents a good-faith, actionable step to bridge critical gaps while long-term housing solutions continue to come online,” Vaught said.

Long-term housing solutions include the Unhoused Support Center, the county’s homeless shelter. Last week, commissioners approved a new design for the center that would cost $17 million and include 100 temporary emergency shelter beds.

While the timeline for when the center will open is still unclear, the county launched a search last month for organizations willing to open and run a temporary homeless shelter.

CityView Reporter Morgan Casey is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Morgan’s reporting focuses on health care issues in and around Cumberland County and can be supported through the News Foundation of Greater Fayetteville.