According to a new AARP Report, Caregivers provide $600 billion unpaid hours of care across the United States. Many of these individuals are loved ones who put their lives on hold and sacrifice their own free time to provide essential care to someone who can’t care for themselves. Many aren’t able to afford the cost of round-the-clock care options, and while no monetary value can trump the love of a caregiver, this role can be very physically, emotionally and mentally taxing. When one local caregiver seemed to be at his wits end, Centralina Area Agency on Aging’s Family Caregiver Support Program (FCSP) stepped in to help ease the burden.

Local government staff across the Centralina region and beyond have more on their plates today than ever before. Between staffing shortages, communities that are still reeling from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and wave after wave of unprecedented federal and state funding opportunities, many jurisdictions are stretched thin. As a council of governments, Centralina provides critical services and support to communities across the region, helping local staff stay abreast of new developments in the field and take advantage of unique opportunities.

Centralina Regional Council is a regional organization focused on addressing the needs of member communities in our nine-county area and working collaboratively on issues that impact our region. We examine national, state and local trends impacting our member governments and identify their potential impacts to determine best practices for meeting needs and addressing challenges. This brief dives into current regional trends and how they are currently being addressed by Centralina, as well as how they will continue to be addressed in upcoming years.

2023 marks 30 years since the establishment of the Clean Cities Program through the Department of Energy (DOE). Centralina Clean Fuels Coalition (CCFC) is one of over 75 coalitions nationwide that work at the local level to advance clean, affordable transportation fuel technologies and systems along with energy-efficient mobility systems. This past month, our CCFC team was out and about in our region and beyond, championing issues surrounding clean energy and enhanced mobility.

As innovations in transportation and energy advance, it is important to ensure all communities can benefit from these new developments. Historically, discriminatory zoning and lending practices have forced residents of color and low-income residents to live closer to sources of toxic pollution, such as highways and industrial sites. The impacts of systematically excluding communities of color and low-income communities from planning and decision-making around transportation and energy are still seen and felt.

The American Recovery Plan Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are recent Congressional Acts that distributed a number of grants and program funding to local and state governments throughout the United States. Centralina Regional Council has assisted several of our member governments in securing these funds and helping with follow-up reporting. Our collaborative work has allowed us to observe and analyze patterns in our region and opportunities to address gaps and discrepancies going forward.

Three major pieces of recently-passed legislation, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Act, together provided more than $2 trillion in new federal spending. With so many funding streams available, and some only for a limited time, it is critical to develop a grants strategy. A thoughtful strategy will maximize your ability to apply for relevant grants, while preventing squandering resources on less pertinent programs.

Southeast Crescent Regional Commission (SCRC) is an economic development partnership agency whose mission is “to build sustainable communities and strengthen economic growth across the Southeast Region.” Member governments across the Centralina region are some of the hundreds of counties and municipalities who can benefit from grant opportunities offered through the commission.  

CONNECT Beyond is a bold regional mobility plan that sets the vision for how to better connect the rural, suburban, and urban communities in our 12-county region. This plan will guide and coordinate future mobility investments for the next two decades and serve as a blueprint for implementing a robust, integrated public transit network that will combine high-capacity transit lines, enhanced bus services, local mobility options and innovative transportation technologies.