Last week, Mountain Projects’ Amanda Singletary was convinced she’d be calling all 250 Section 8 landlords with bad news: they wouldn’t be receiving October’s rental payment.  

Because Section 8 received funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, but HUD hadn’t indicated what might become of its finances given a federal government shutdown, Singletary was “sweating bullets” as the Oct. 1 deadline to extend a continuing resolution to keep the federal government open loomed over the horizon.  

Michelle Parker hadn’t finished unpacking the last of her belongings that had survived Tropical Storm Fred in August 2021 when her home was destroyed by Hurricane Helene September 27, 2024. Within three years, two devastating floods had displaced her and her husband Jeff.  

In the face of challenges with Section 8 rental assistance, Mountain Projects Executive Director Patsy Davis visited county commissions in both Haywood and Jackson counties this month to inform elected officials of just how dire the situation is becoming.  

The effect of short-term rental properties on the availability and affordability of workforce housing has been well-documented in Haywood County.