A densely packed crowd cheered and clapped along as Yvette Matthews, an organizer of the Community Empowerment Fund and director of the group’s advocacy choir, sang one of her original songs at the PEACH Apartments ribbon-cutting ceremony in Chapel Hill on Friday. The song was about staying determined and optimistic in the face of adversity, making it a fitting anthem for the inauguration of an apartment building that will provide housing to people who make less than 30% of the average median income for the area.
Yvette Matthews, director of the Community Engagement Fund advocacy choir, performs an original song at the PEACH Apartments ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The lively and upbeat atmosphere continued as a succession of speakers lauded the efforts of EMPOWERment Inc., a local affordable housing nonprofit that spearheaded the efforts to build PEACH Apartments. Delores Bailey, the organization’s executive director, passionately thanked everyone who contributed to the success of such a difficult process, and referenced Matthews’s song to illustrate her belief in persistence.
“I know I was a fool to believe that this could happen. But it did, y’all,” Bailey said. “And I have said to everybody, if you have anything to do with this at all – money, prayers, touching, believing, agreeing – this is our project. Thank you. Thank you for that.
“The fight continues,” she added. “But as [Matthews] said in her song, ‘I’m not one to take noes,’ and so we won’t.”
Delores Bailey, executive director of EMPOWERment Inc., speaks at the PEACH Apartments ribbon-cutting ceremony.
PEACH, which stands for Pine Knoll EMPOWERment Affordable Community Housing, is Chapel Hill’s first affordable multi-unit complex with debt-free funding. It features 10 units, including studios and apartments with one, two, and three bedrooms. It is located along a bus route that can take residents to within walking distance of UNC-Chapel Hill and NC Memorial Hospital, where many low-income employees work.
The project was a long road for Bailey and EMPOWERment Inc. Inspired by the story of Phillip Walker, a Chapel Hill native and UNC employee who spent five years without permanent housing before the organization was eventually able to set him up in a house, EMPOWERment decided it had to do something to address the lack of affordable housing in the town.
Attendees at the event view one of the apartments furnished for display.
After raising $3.9 million to build the project without incurring any debt, they broke ground on PEACH Apartments in October 2023 on a site in the historically Black neighborhood of Pine Knolls. The funding was supported by political leaders such as U.S. Representative Valerie Foushee, a Democrat representing North Carolina’s 4th congressional district, who grew up in the neighborhood. Foushee spoke at the ceremony, praising EMPOWERment and highlighting the historical significance of her childhood home.
“I am deeply grateful for everyone’s dedication to our community and for creating a real and substantive change for years to come,” she said. “Their mission has never been just about bricks and mortar. It’s always been about dignity and stability and belonging, and the PEACH Apartments are a true testament to that commitment. I am pleased that this new housing community is located here in Pine Knolls, one of Chapel Hill’s oldest historically Black neighborhoods, and a place with deep roots, generational strength, and a rich legacy.”
U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee speaks at the PEACH Apartments ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Chapel Hill Mayor Jess Anderson also emphasized the strength of the community and the importance of working together to uplift some of its most vulnerable members.
“The PEACH Apartments are truly a testament to the power of community,” she said. “It has been encouraging and inspiring to see so many people step in to help whenever and however help was needed, and our community is not complete when we don’t take intentional action to include those who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford Chapel Hill.”
Jamezetta Bedford, chair of the Board of Orange County Commissioners, urged political support for affordable housing efforts in her speech at the event.
“Our local nonprofits keep going one unit at a time to build and preserve affordable homes. We must continue to support them,” she said. “I rarely say anything that I think is political, but this should not be partisan, and we must continue to advocate at the state and federal levels for funding, for housing funding and for policies.”
In addition to other speeches from EMPOWERment board president Linda Bynum and former U.S. Representative David Price, the ceremony also featured a reading of a congratulatory letter from Governor Josh Stein, a prayer from apostle Hattie Stancil of Barbee’s Chapel Harvest Word Ministry, and a poem by EMPOWERment board treasurer David Bright.
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