The Southern Comfort Inn. Image courtesy of WBTV.

Driving the news: The past few weeks have been busy on the housing front:

Why it matters: Despite our best efforts, we’re not meeting the need, especially for the city’s poorest residents, a recent Axios analysis found . 

Context: In the wake of the 2016 police killing of Keith Lamont Scott and a 2014 study that ranked Charlotte last among major metros for economic mobility, politicians and corporations alike galvanized support for affordable housing.

State of play: The private money is in a bucket called the Charlotte Housing Opportunity Investment Fund (CHOIF), and that’s managed by a national nonprofit organization named Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC).

Yes, but: Despite that progress, the a ffordability gap is still widening.

One example of the growing problem is in the Sterling community, where another group of residents are being forced to relocate after a developer purchased their homes. And that’s just the latest in a string of displacements.

While those people are being displaced, the homelessness numbers are also increasing going into summer. More than 3,000 people are now experiencing homelessness in both sheltered and unsheltered locations, each night in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, according to the most recent Charlotte-Mecklenburg housing data snapshot.

The big picture: In an interview with Axios last week to discuss the new strategy for homelessness, county manager Dena Diorio  talked about how development, affordability and homelessness are all intertwined.

What they’re saying: George Ashton, president of LISC Fund Management LLC, tells Axios that the CHOIF’s biggest priority is preserving existing affordable housing, because there is so much demand for those properties from investors who want to purchase them and raise rents.

The bottom line: Our city’s identity is wrapped up in its growth, but that also comes with rising costs and people being forced out of the communities they’ve called home for decades.

In a column last week, the Observer’s former affordable housing reporter noted that her career began with writing about mass displacement at Lake Arbor Apartments, and ended with it at Sterling.

Danielle’s thought bubble: How much longer can we keep doing this? How many more times can I sit with an elderly homeowner who can’t afford their property taxes, or a renter in a community like Brookhill , who has watched development encroach on them, waiting for the day that they will be next?

Where to help: Pineville Neighbors Place is providing financial assistance to the Sterling families for rent, utilities, moving expenses and food. Visit this link to donate.