More Than 5,500 CMS Students Face Housing Instability. One Charlotte Nonprofit Is Working to Change That.

Freedom Fighting Missionaries is using Juneteenth as a call to action for student housing, affordable development, and long-term family stability in Charlotte.

More than 5,500 students enrolled in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) are experiencing housing instability.

For many families, that can mean sleeping in cars, living in shelters, staying in motels, or doubling up with relatives while trying to keep children enrolled, learning, and moving forward.

This Juneteenth, one Charlotte nonprofit is working to turn reflection into action.

Freedom Fighting Missionaries, founded by Kenny Robinson, is hosting Freedom Reimagined: A Juneteenth Experience at the Knight Theater to raise support for a new affordable housing initiative designed to serve some of Charlotte's most vulnerable students and families.

A Mission Focused on Student Housing

The goal is direct and ambitious: help address housing instability among the more than 5,500 unhoused students currently enrolled in CMS.

At the center of the effort is Beatrice Place Homes, a planned 24-unit affordable housing development in Charlotte's University Area. The project is designed to provide safe, stable housing for families and students who have experienced homelessness or severe housing insecurity.

For Robinson and Freedom Fighting Missionaries, the work is about more than providing a roof. It is about helping families build the stability needed for students to succeed in school and for parents to move forward with dignity.

At a Glance: Freedom Reimagined

Event: Freedom Reimagined: A Juneteenth Experience

Date: Friday, June 19, 2026

Time: 5:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.

Location: Knight Theater, Uptown Charlotte

Purpose: Raise support for Beatrice Place Homes, a 24-unit affordable housing development in the University Area.

Focus: Student homelessness, affordable housing, family stability and community action.