A has opened an affordable housing apartment complex in Raleigh aimed at combating homelessness.
The complex is CASA鈥檚 largest affordable housing project so far. The housing director for CASA, Erin Yates, said the 100-unit building is for people exiting homelessness.
鈥淪o, we wanted to make sure that we had all the potential services that our folks might need when they move in,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e have all three hospital systems 鈥� UNC Health, Duke Health, and WakeMed 鈥� coming here to help support our residents. We also have programs to help with the workforce, for folks who are working on their disability.鈥�
The apartment complex will also have behavioral health services to help those dealing with mental health issues and substance abuse. All the services are free for the tenants.
Yates said King鈥檚 Ridge residents are those who suffer severe cases of homelessness.
鈥淥nce King's Ridge is full, we will decrease homelessness in Wake County by 10%,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he nice thing is that not only will it decrease homelessness by 10%, but also it's for folks who may have been homeless for the longest.鈥�
Yates hopes to have all the tenants moved in by early spring. She said since it鈥檚 permanent affordable housing, that means there鈥檚 no limit to how long a tenant can stay.
鈥淩ight now, CASA has an average length of stay of almost seven years,鈥� Yates said. 鈥淓very year that increases, but we also have had a tenant who's been with us for 28 years at another one of our apartments.鈥�
King鈥檚 Ridge Apartments cost $26 million to build and was partly funded by the city of Raleigh. Moving forward, Yates said CASA plans to partner with nonprofit that works directly with youth aging out of foster care to open a housing unit for them.
