Faith community demands action on affordable housing crisis at MORE Justice assembly

Columbia, S.C. (WACH) — Hundreds of people packed the Pastides Alumni Center on Monday night, pressing local and state leaders to take action on issues they said are hurting the Midlands now, including a growing housing crisis.

The annual Nehemiah Action Assembly, hosted by MORE Justice, a non-profit coalition of more than 25 interfaith congregations across Richland and Lexington counties, brought together community members, clergy, and local officials for a structured evening of accountability. Officials were invited to attend, asked specific questions on the record, and expected to answer with a simple yes or no.

The numbers presented during the assembly were stark.

Richland County leads the entire state of South Carolina in evictions, with more than 82,000 filed in just the last five years. That's one in every five neighbors. South Carolina's eviction filing rate sits at 20%, more than double the national average.

Under current law, the record follows a family forever, making it nearly impossible to secure housing elsewhere.

South Carolina is also short nearly 80,000 affordable housing units statewide. In Richland County, a quarter of homeowners and half of all renters are spending more than 30% of their household income on housing alone. That's an estimated 66,000 people stretched thin every single month.

Co-President of MORE Justice Tami Ashford-Carroll said the crisis goes beyond the people most visibly struggling:

“A lot of times when people think about homelessness, they think about people living on the streets. But we also have those who are working 40,50 hours a week just trying to keep a roof over their head, contributing, taxpaying members of Richland County who deserve a safe, affordable place to live.”

MORE Justice is pushing for a dedicated affordable housing trust fund. Organizers said similar funds are used in more than 850 communities nationwide and that for every tax dollar invested, 14 dollars is leveraged from other sources.

Richland County Councilmember Don Weaver, who chairs the county’s housing ad hoc committee, said the county is already taking steps.

“There’s no reason to have businesses where people can’t afford to live in Richland County to work at those businesses, that's what they call workforce housing, and that’s something we’re taking serious,” Weaver said.

Weaver said a partnership with the Columbia Housing Authority aims to rehabilitate more than 100 vacant homes and get them into the hands of first-time buyers. He also said the county has set aside additional funding for affordable housing and that the housing trust fund is expected to be discussed soon.

“We want to keep rolling the funds over and over. We’ve set aside another 2 million at the county for affordable housing and the housing trust fund will be on the May agenda for county council,” Weaver said.

At the Statehouse, MORE Justice is backing bills H. 4270 and S. 983, which call for eviction records to be sealed after five years. Members described the measures as historic, saying they are the first housing bills to move out of committee in South Carolina in more than a decade.

Wayne Kannaday, a pastor with MORE Justice, said the coalition’s work is rooted in treating residents as partners in improving the region.

“Justice involves working with people, seeing people as peers, seeing people as equals, seeing people as partners in the process of making Columbia and the Midlands a better place to live,” Kannaday said.

MORE Justice is asking Midlands residents to call their county council members this week to push for a dedicated affordable housing trust fund. The proposal is set to be heard by Richland County Council in May.