About Charlotte Family Housing

Our ‘Why’

For many hardworking families, one event – the loss of a job or a loved one – is all it takes to shift the balance from housed to homeless.

This is why we do what we do. The families we serve are strong, driven, and capable. They have the power to build the lives they want. Our role is to provide the support and resources necessary to bridge the gap between where they are now and where they want to be.

A family making $35,000 a year can only afford about $900 a month in rent. That’s not something you can easily find in Charlotte, and this is exactly why our community needs an organization like ours.

- Elizabeth Kurtz, Executive Director, Charlotte Family Housing

This work has never been more important than it is right now.

50% of renters in Mecklenburg County have difficulty affording their homes.

Median monthly rent has increased 30% while minimum wage has stayed stagnant at $7.25 per hour.

Only 8% of rentals are considered low cost ($800 a month or less) while Mecklenburg County’s population has increased by 23% over the past 15 years.

More than 2,900 individuals in Mecklenburg County are actively experiencing homelessness – more than ever before.

More than 5,400 students in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools district were experiencing homelessness in 2024 – a 13% increase over the previous year.

Sources: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing & Homelessness Data FactSheet 2024, 2024 Charlotte-Mecklenburg State of Housing Instability & Homelessness, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing & Homelessness Dashboard

Collaboration leads to impact

Before we were Charlotte Family Housing, we were three distinct agencies in Charlotte working to end family homelessness. We all recognized the profound need for services, and we built strong, collaborative relationships with one another.

Then, in 2011, we recognized that the whole could be greater than the sum of its parts.

We combined our strengths and expertise to create Charlotte Family Housing, and today, we are a thriving organization with a mission to transform our community by empowering families experiencing homelessness in Charlotte to get back on their feet and stay there, to find a roof and make it a home, to achieve financial literacy and self-sufficiency – for now, and for the future.

Need support?

If you and your family are in need of housing, please fill out our brief online application to see if our program is right for you.

‘Now, I feel like I can breathe’

In 2020, Monae was at the end of her rope – unemployed due to the pandemic with two young boys depending on her.

She had spent years trying to find reliable housing for her and her sons – even moving them from Brooklyn, New York to Charlotte in search of more affordable options and a better way of life. Things started to look better, but then during the COVID-19 pandemic, she lost her job as a bank teller. “I literally had no income,” she says. “I was so upset, so lost, so stressed.”

Then she found Charlotte Family Housing.

Monae, CFH Participant

This was the first step to getting everything back where I need it to be,” she says. “They give you as many tools as you need to make sure that, when you’re on your own, you’re able to move forward.