I, the undersigned, hereby affix my signature on this petition in support of a vision to build at-scale affordable homeownership opportunities to address gentrification through ONE Wake and the Nehemiah Housing Development Finance Corporation. 

I firmly believe that:

More than 65,000 working households in Wake County NC are unable to afford housing, including long-time families, firefighters, teachers, police officers. Historic Black neighborhoods are particularly impacted by gentrification and displacement, as can be seen by the fact that downtown Raleigh zip codes have become 259% more White over the last 20 years.

Current efforts by Wake County and municipalities like Raleigh and Cary are admirable but inadequate to fully address this issue. For example, Wake County has built or preserved more than 3,500 affordable homes since 2019, however, a deficit of more than 65,000 affordable units still exists. 

ONE Wake’s vision to partner with Nehemiah HDFC to build at least 1,000 at-scale affordable homeownership units, and 1,000 affordable rental units is a necessary and robust response to this issue. Nehemiah HDFC has built over 6,500 affordable homes for mostly Black and Brown families, creating close to $2 billion dollars worth of generational wealth, which has been a successful mechanism against gentrification in diverse communities including East New York, Chicago, and Baltimore. 

In order to realize this vision, elected officials serving on the Wake County Board of Commissioners, and the City of Raleigh must provide substantial public land, financial subsidy, and rezoning to support this effort and partnership. 

By signing this petition, I pledge to support the ONE Wake / Nehemiah vision to build affordable homes at-scale in Wake County, NC, and I pledge to vote in the county and municipal elections taking place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.