The resources exist.
The connection doesn't.
The Scale
Thousands of our neighbors are falling through the cracks.
Orange County is home to an extraordinary university, thriving businesses, and deeply generous people. It is also home to a housing and stability crisis that grows larger every year. The cause is twofold: a critical shortage of affordable homes and a fragmented support system that leaves too many people with nowhere to turn.
The numbers tell a story that is impossible to ignore.
1,300+
People experiencing homelessness in Orange County in 2024, up 17% from the prior year
9,555
Unit housing deficit for low-income residents. The gap between what exists and what is needed.
84%
Of low-income renters in Orange County cannot find housing within their means.
The Orange County Housing Authority's Section 8 voucher waitlist has been closed since 2017 with no announced reopening date. More than 1,700 households have turned to emergency rental assistance since 2020 just to stay housed. The rental vacancy rate sits at just 4%, well below the 5 to 10% needed for a balanced market.
The Cost
A community priced out of its own backyard.
The people who teach our children, care for our elderly, prepare our food, and keep our community running can no longer afford to live here. Rising rents have outpaced wages for low and middle income households, pushing stability further out of reach with every passing year.
Nearly 45% of all renters in Orange County are cost-burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on housing. For low-income renters, that number climbs to 84%. Cost-burdened households live one unexpected expense away from crisis. A medical bill, a lost shift, a car repair. Any one of these can trigger a spiral toward eviction or homelessness.
Chapel Hill
Studio~$1,500/mo
1 Bedroom~$1,400/mo
2 Bedroom~$1,650/mo
3 Bedroom~$2,450/mo
Carrboro
Average~$1,295/mo
1 Bedroom~$1,176/mo
2 Bedroom~$1,362/mo
3 Bedroom~$1,734/mo
To comfortably afford average rent in Carrboro alone, a household needs to earn nearly $48,000 per year. The median home price in the Chapel Hill and Carrboro market has climbed to $721,000, placing homeownership entirely out of reach for most working families. And 64% of low-income homeowners are already cost-burdened by the homes they currently own.
The Gap
The system is disconnected, but not from lack of care.
Orange County has nonprofits, government agencies, faith communities, university resources, and thousands of residents who genuinely want to help. But good intentions and existing services can only go so far when the most fundamental resource, affordable housing, is in critically short supply. A person facing eviction today must simultaneously manage a landlord, attorney, the housing authority, social services office, food bank, transportation barrier, and possibly a mental health or substance use challenge. All of this while trying to keep their job and care for their family. Without a trusted guide, most people do not make it to the resources available to support them.
People fall through the cracks for two reasons: a critical shortage of affordable homes, and a fragmented system that makes navigating what does exist challenging. Grata Connects addresses both. We advocate for the resources that are missing and connect people to the ones that exist.
This is the gap Grata Connects works to close. We do not wait for people to find us. We find them. We meet them with dignity and without judgment, and we walk alongside them, connecting them to the right people, the right agencies, and the right support at the right time. Every interaction is tracked and every outcome is measured, so our partners and supporters always know exactly the impact of our work.