A broad cross-section of residents, nonprofit leaders, educators, housing advocates and elected officials gathered in Sumter last week with a common message for state lawmakers: South Carolina's housing challenges extend far beyond rising rent.
During the Midlands Housing Listening Session on June 24, speakers described how limited housing options are affecting families, schools, health care, workforce development, economic growth and public safety throughout the region. The event was one of four regional listening sessions being held this summer by a bipartisan, bicameral working group studying housing policy ahead of the 2027-28 legislative session.
"We're going to find solutions by working together," Deborah DePaoli, engagement and policy director for the Institute for Child Success, told attendees. "The more voices we get in the room, the more effective our solutions are going to be."
DePaoli said the listening sessions grew out of years of community conversations about children's well-being, where housing repeatedly surfaced as one of the greatest barriers to helping families thrive.
"Starting four years ago, when we were doing community assessments and listening sessions around children's issues, we kept hearing housing as one of the main barriers that were keeping children and families from thriving and meeting their full potential," she said.
The Sumter session brought together lawmakers, local officials and residents from across the Midlands, including Manning Mayor Julia Nelson, Sens. Jeff Zell, Tameika Isaac Devine, Russell Ott and Jeff Graham, Rep. Carla Schuessler and dozens of representatives from housing organizations, nonprofits, businesses and local governments. Rather than debating policy, lawmakers spent the evening listening as residents shared their experiences and ideas.
The nearly two-hour session underscored how housing affects nearly every corner of community life.
Among those offering testimony was Jessica Kaneft, program support and development coordinator for Crosswell Home for Children, who reminded lawmakers that housing extends beyond economics.
"Housing is not simply an economic issue, it is a moral issue," Kaneft said.
Her testimony echoed others throughout the evening, from educators who described the effects of housing instability on students to developers who discussed barriers to building new homes and nonprofit leaders who shared stories of families struggling to find safe, stable places to live.
DePaoli said organizers intentionally invited voices from every sector because no single organization or level of government can solve the issue alone.
"It really needs to be faith groups, nonprofits, for-profit businesses and government," she said. "It doesn't work if it's only two of those or only three of those working together."
The comments gathered in Sumter will be combined with testimony from listening sessions in North Charleston, Florence and Greenville. Organizers plan to compile the feedback into a statewide report identifying common themes and recommendations.
That report will help guide lawmakers as they begin drafting housing legislation this fall, with bills expected to be prefiled in December ahead of the General Assembly's 2027-28 legislative session.
"We're going to publish a report about the findings from this series of listening sessions," DePaoli said. "Then we have a committed group of lawmakers ... who have said, 'As soon as we hear from the community what we really need, let's sit down and draft legislation that can be pre-filed in December.'"
DePaoli encouraged residents to stay engaged as proposals move through the legislative process by following legislation through the South Carolina Legislature mobile app, attending committee hearings and continuing to share their experiences with lawmakers.
"When lawmakers see that there are a large number of people, that in and of itself has an impact," she said. "Lawmakers realize, 'Oh wow, this is something that really is affecting my constituents.'"
