Volusia County, Fla. — As part of its affordable housing initiative, Volusia County is helping nonprofit organizations become certified as a Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs) so they can apply for funding opportunities. 

A CHDO is a private nonprofit, community-based organization that is locally certified and focused on developing affordable housing.

The Neighborhood Center of West Volusia is a nonprofit organization located in DeLand with a mission to provide food for the hungry and shelter for the homeless. Chief Operating Officer Waylan Niece has been working at the center for 13 years, and says the homeless problem in the county has gotten worse over the years.

“We are seeing a significant increase in homelessness, just from 2023 to 2024," he said. "In Volusia county alone, we saw over 17% increase in homelessness in our community right here. And a lot of that has to do with a lack of affordable housing."

Over the last year, Niece said his organization has expanded to meet the growing need. The newest addition to the Neighborhood Center is the Family Emergency Shelter, which just opened this week.

“We’re going to be able to house five families in our Family Shelter, and that’ll be for about 90 days each, approximately," he said. "And they will share things like the kitchen, the living room, the dining room, the laundry room. But then they’ll all each family will have their own specific unit."

With the growing need for affordable housing, county officials say they are interested in incentivizing nonprofits to become certified so they can apply for funding opportunities. 

“A CHDO is a nonprofit agency that specializes in the development of affordable housing,” Volusia County Community Assistance Director Carmen Hall said.

CHDO certification is necessary to become eligible for HOME Investment Partnerships Program funding, which can be used to expand the supply of decent, affordable housing and strengthen the ability of state and local governments to provide housing by public-private partnerships.

HOME regulations require Volusia County to set aside 15% of its annual allocation for CHDOs.

Funding for proposed projects must be used to acquire and rehabilitate, or construct, affordable single-family rental housing or other small rental housing projects for low-income households in Volusia County. Funds up to $609,919, which includes funding from the prior and current year, are available to be awarded to Volusia County certified CHDOs. 

“Currently, we have one active CHDO, but we do have several agencies that are interested in becoming a CHDO," Hall said. "So, we’re very optimistic that we’re going to receive more applications in this cycle."

To qualify for designation as a CHDO, nonprofits must submit two applications to Volusia County: 

• The deadline for applications to become a certified CHDO is 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27. 
• The deadline for financing of one or more projects is 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25. 

CHDOs that become Volusia County certified are not guaranteed HOME funding. 

For more information and to request an application, contact Lori Brown at 386-736-5955, ext. 12969, or lbrown@volusia.org. Applications are also available between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. at the Community Assistance Division office, 121 W. Rich Ave., DeLand.

Applications can be submitted in person or by mail to 121 W. Rich Ave. DeLand, FL 32720 or through a secure upload portal on the Volusia County Community Assistance Division website.