By Lexi Wilson, WCNC-TV
The group will pay landlords upfront, in return the landlords eliminate security deposits, credit checks, and employment records.
Affordable housing across Charlotte has been an issue long before the pandemic, but now it’s even worse.
Many groups are trying to solve the problem but a local nonprofit is taking a different approach to making housing available.
Stephen Vaughn still can’t believe it.
“I’m almost speechless,” Vaughn said as he sat on his couch going through his mail.
At one point, Vaughn wasn’t able to enjoy his own space. He lost his house, his car, and his job after his wife died.
“It just knocked my feet out from under me,” Vaughn said.
Now at 69-years-old, he’s starting over.
“I had looked to find housing,” Vaughn. “It’s almost impossible the obstacles are almost unbelievable.”
That’s where The Lotus Campaign comes in. They pay landlords upfront, in return, the landlords eliminate security deposits, credit checks, and employment records.
“Someone that’s experienced homelessness is generally perceived as a risky tenant and that’s because they’re most likely going to have poor credit and they may or may not have a job,” the Lotus Campaign Executive Director, Beth Silverman said.
According to a recent report by The Lotus Campaign, it costs around $800 a year to put someone into an apartment unit. The Landlord Participation Program has housed more than 250 people in Charlotte. 128 people, more than half, have moved on to other housing or renewed their leases.
“We’re opening up access to housing that nonprofits and their residents don’t typically have access to,” Silverman said.
The Charlotte Journalism Collaborative is supported by the Local Media Project, an initiative launched by the Solutions Journalism Network with support from the Knight Foundation to strengthen and reinvigorate local media ecosystems.
