Clergy members petition Volusia County to create affordable housing trust fund

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A group of clergy members is petitioning the Volusia County council to establish an affordable housing trust fund to help bridge the gap to get people into housing they can afford.

Inflation and rising rents are increasing the number of people struggling to find affordable housing in the county and across Central Florida.

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The group, Fighting Against Injustice Toward Harmony (FAITH), made of roughly 30 different congregations, stood before the Council Tuesday morning asking the county to create an affordable housing trust fund.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a housing trust fund provides grants for local governments to use to preserve affordable housing for low-income households.

READ: Rising interest rates pricing buyers out of the housing market, realtors say

Members of FAITH want the county to use $2.5 million from the funds the county received from the American Rescue Plan to launch the trust and commit a million dollars to funding it each year.

The group handed over more than 1,200 signatures to the county chair of people the group says support the proposal.

READ: ‘This crisis is only going to get worse’: Many struggling to find affordable housing in Florida

Council Member Barb Girtman said she does support a housing trust. Chair Jeff Brower said the trust fund is on the list of ideas to address affordable housing in Volusia County, but that the county needs to consider a multitude of options. The other five council members have not responded to Channel 9′s request for comment.

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