ANCHOR: Building Access and Equity through Housing in Winston-Salem

The need for affordable housing in the United States is at a crisis point. According to a 2022 report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), there is a shortage of more than 7 million affordable rental homes for families living at or below the poverty line. In North Carolina, the housing gap is no less dire. Forsyth County is projecting a shortage of 11,000 affordable rental units within the next five years.

According to a 2020 study by the Federal Reserve, the median net worth of White families in the U.S. is ten times that of Black families, a disparity rooted in exclusionary housing policies. In a city like Winston-Salem, where history has often left Black communities on the wrong side of economic opportunity, equitable access to housing is critical.

In 1968, Winston-Salem Housing was formed to address this issue. One of the founding tenets of the nonprofit organization was to more comprehensively integrate the community, but due to historic redlining, land in the more affluent (predominantly White) parts of town was too expensive for the construction of single-family homes. As a result, Winston-Salem Housing began building multi-family homes. Since that time, the organization, which recently rebranded as ANCHOR—Affordable North Carolina Housing Organization, has created more than 2,500 units of quality affordable housing. This year they have resumed building affordable single-family homes with the hope of elevating economic mobility. 

Housing as a Social Determinant of Health

The affordable housing crisis is more than just an economic issue; it's a public health crisis. According to research from the NLIHC, 600,000 households in North Carolina are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Families who face such burdens have less income to spend on food, healthcare, education, childcare, and transportation. 

The concept of housing as a social determinant of health is well-documented and crucial to understanding how housing policy shapes lives. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) links poor housing conditions to a higher risk of diseases like cardiovascular conditions, diabetes, and even premature death. According to the National Center for Healthy Housing, families living in substandard housing are more likely to suffer from respiratory conditions, complications from mold exposure, and lead poisoning. Black and Latino communities are more likely to experience higher levels of pollution, poor water quality, and inadequate access to healthcare providers, all of which are influenced by housing policy.

In Forsyth County, Black infants experience infant mortality rates that are two to three times higher than White infants. Key social determinants of health—including access to housing, healthcare, nutrition, and community resources—play a role in these disparities.

The Importance of Local Nonprofit Developers

Nonprofit housing developers are better positioned to lead development projects because they understand the unique needs of their communities.

“Local nonprofit developers are often the most rooted and responsive organizations in their communities,” says David Stevens, a housing policy expert and former commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration. “They have deep relationships with the people they serve and are less likely to engage in speculative development that does little to address the real needs of low-income and Black families.”

Additionally, nonprofit developers don’t have to answer to investors in the same way that for-profit developers do, thus lowering the total cost of development. ANCHOR’s development model is sustainable, culturally relevant, and tailored to the specific needs of Winston-Salem's underserved communities.

“We recognize that the systemic injustices that have shaped housing policies over centuries continue to impact Black and low-income communities today,” says ANCHOR Executive Director Laurie Ingram. “Our mission is to build affordable housing that helps ensure long-term stability for the communities we serve.”

Ingram explains that affordable housing can be a vehicle for broader change. “When people have access to stable, affordable homes, they can better invest in education, job opportunities, and health. Intentionally developed communities create an ecosystem of opportunity that fosters generational wealth and economic mobility.”

Conclusion

Housing is about more than walls and roofs. Housing is about access to improved health and opportunity. In order to provide this access, we need to build affordable housing communities where children can learn without distraction, where families can grow without the stress of housing insecurity, and where health disparities are narrowed, not perpetuated.

Ingram invites the community to join ANCHOR in this work. “Together we can create communities where everyone has the opportunity to succeed, no matter their starting point. When everyone has access to safe, affordable housing, we all rise.”