The Back@Home program is the latest iteration of Back@Home North Carolina, a collaborative rehousing effort led by state and local partners. With a focus on reducing unsheltered and rural homelessness, the program aims to stabilize households with severe service needs, experiencing homelessness within the 79-county NC Balance of State Continuum of Care area.
Through a service and support infrastructure utilized by multiple programs, the Back@Home program provides financial assistance and housing stabilization services that help households obtain and maintain stable housing.
As of July 1, 2025, NCDHHS serves as the oversight agency for Back@Home program and is responsible for administering grant funds from multiple sources, assisting with reporting and reimbursement, contracting for and managing funding to provide housing stability financial assistance and services, ensuring compliance with match requirements and assuring compliance and adherence to best practices.
The NC Balance of State Continuum of Care provides oversight to the Back@Home program and supports the program's service providers through knowledge and skill-building activities, technical assistance and compliance support. The NC Coalition to End Homelessness, the lead agency for the NC Balance of State Continuum of Care, ensures that the Back@Home program meets its requirements.
Additionally, two types of key partners support Back@Home activities:
- Housing Stabilization Service (HSS) Providers: Various service providers have been selected as subrecipients to cover all 79 counties in the NC Balance of State Continuum of Care. These service providers will offer housing stabilization services to program participants, including outreach, case management, system navigation and housing navigation.
- A Centralized Financial Assistance and Housing Navigation Hub: The Housing Collaborative, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, offers centralized financial assistance administration, housing navigation services, landlord engagement and unit recruitment for the Back@Home program. Housing navigation will be provided in collaboration with local service providers.
Redesign Collaborative also helped develop the launch of the Back@Home program.
Current funding sources for the program include:
- HUD CoC Program funding
- U.S. Treasury Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA2) funding
- State Fiscal Recovery Funds
The Back@Home program launched on Oct. 1, 2023. Household enrollment began on Jan. 16, 2024.
By winter 2026, as many as 1,400 households will be served through housing stabilization services, financial assistance, and connection to other resources to stabilize individuals and families with severe housing needs. All services offered through the project will follow best practices outlined in the Continuum of Care’s plan:
- Progressive Engagement
- Person-Centered Care
The Back@Home program is designed to reduce unsheltered and rural homelessness and improve services, health outcomes, and housing stability for unsheltered people and families through housing stabilization services and financial assistance.
Housing Stabilization Services
- Housing Stabilization Case Management: Service providers create a partnership with the household to assess, plan, implement, coordinate, monitor, and evaluate the needs of the household to get and keep housing.
- Outreach: Service providers assist by locating, engaging, and supporting households with life-saving resources as they experience homelessness and are connected to housing resources.
- System Navigation: Service providers assist households with accessing resources from the homeless system and partner systems to get and keep housing.
- Housing Navigation: Service providers assist households in gaining access to address issues with maintaining a physical unit.
Financial Assistance
- Rent and Utility Financial Assistance
- Unit Access and Move-In Financial Assistance: Examples include, but are not limited to, application, background check, and security deposit fees. They may also include incentives for landlords to provide housing, move-in costs like furniture, housing supplies, temporary stays and moving costs.