Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Nonprofit partnership to furnish homes for WHA displaced families

Wilmington Housing Authority has been working to return families back to units, following extensive repair and mold remediation. Two nonprofits are teaming up to offer furniture and other necessities that were lost during the crisis. (Port City Daily/file)

WILMINGTON — Families displaced from public housing due to an ongoing mold crisis will receive assistance furnishing their new units.

The New Hanover Community Endowment invested $197,500 in the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Raleigh as part of its Cape Fear Opportunities and Needs program. After soliciting applications from the community, 110 recipients were announced last week.

READ MORE: 110 nonprofits receive $9M in first tranche of NHC Endowment funds

However, the endowment revealed Monday it gave Catholic Charities an additional $333,500 — separate from the grant cycle — to help Wilmington Housing Authority families. In partnership with the New Hanover Disaster Coalition, Catholic Charities will donate household items and furnishings to more than 90 families displaced from WHA units.

“This independent project and partnership mark the first of many opportunities ahead to respond to the needs of the community,” a press release noted.

The items will be provided by The Green Chair Project, a Raleigh-based nonprofit that collects and reuses essential furnishings for families in need. The initiative will help supplement WHA’s budget.

“I appreciate the efforts of the Wilmington Housing Authority to rehome displaced families in our community and am thrilled the endowment has an opportunity to come alongside their efforts, as well as the efforts of the CCDR, to ensure these families return to safe, newly-furnished homes,” NHC Endowment CEO and president William Buster said in a press release.

Once the Green Chair Project launches, it will provide furniture cash stipends or vouchers for residents to pick out necessities.

“Not only will this grant allow us to ensure these families have all they need to rebuild the homes they’ve lost, but doing so through The Green Chair Project, which is known for its quality items, allows us to bring dignity to a really tough situation,” New Hanover Disaster Coalition director Derek Macleod said in the release.

[Ed. note: The brief was updated to clarify $333,000 was additionally given to Catholic Charities outside of the Cape Fear Opportunities and Needs program, to help WHA displaced families.]


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