Thursday, April 14, 2011
Subsidized Housing & Housing Needs in WI
The Center for Budget & Policy Priorities did a state-by-state report on federally subsidized housing programs and the housing needs in each state.
American Community Survey tells us that there is an estimated 2,246,512 households in the state. In the report for Wisconsin, we find out that 31% of Wisconsin's households, or 701,295 households, are renters. This is a percentage that will likely increase as the workforce becomes more mobile, even as many communities fight to keep the population mostly homeowners.
Forty percent of the subsidized units are targeted at persons who are elderly, with the rest split evenly between households with a person with a disability and family households.
Think about that. Over 2 million households. Of which 79,427 households use federally subsidized housing assistance (which doesn't include tax-credits). A relatively small number, yet such a fuss made over those units in some communities!
Now let's look at the overall number of low-income households who are paying over half of their income toward rent, 166,090 households in Wisconsin. Remember the rule of thumb is you should be paying about 30% of your income on housing costs, and the report shows us that there are 309,026 households paying more than 30% of their income on housing.
How many of those households could be paying less if communities had better housing policies? What are those households sacrificing to stay in those homes? Low-income households who struggle with housing costs are at higher risk of being homeless:
American Community Survey tells us that there is an estimated 2,246,512 households in the state. In the report for Wisconsin, we find out that 31% of Wisconsin's households, or 701,295 households, are renters. This is a percentage that will likely increase as the workforce becomes more mobile, even as many communities fight to keep the population mostly homeowners.
Forty percent of the subsidized units are targeted at persons who are elderly, with the rest split evenly between households with a person with a disability and family households.
Think about that. Over 2 million households. Of which 79,427 households use federally subsidized housing assistance (which doesn't include tax-credits). A relatively small number, yet such a fuss made over those units in some communities!
Now let's look at the overall number of low-income households who are paying over half of their income toward rent, 166,090 households in Wisconsin. Remember the rule of thumb is you should be paying about 30% of your income on housing costs, and the report shows us that there are 309,026 households paying more than 30% of their income on housing.
How many of those households could be paying less if communities had better housing policies? What are those households sacrificing to stay in those homes? Low-income households who struggle with housing costs are at higher risk of being homeless:
Point-in-time surveys suggest that at least 6,525 people are homeless in Wisconsin.But Point-in-Time surveys doesn't count homeless people doubled up or staying with friends & families, so this is likely significantly higher.
Good news for Community Groups
I heard that Hebron House of Hospitality was having financial difficulties with some of their programs due to cuts in their funding. Siena House was at the verge of being closed in the near future. It is very good news that a donor provided money to Hebron House and other community groups, apparently as part of an estate. Siena House is an emergency shelter that serves women and families, and its loss would've been a significant blow to efforts to end homelessness in the community.
While this donation to keep Siena House running is great, what of the future? I serve on the board of a different organization serving people who are homeless, and the projected budget cuts from federal sources for 2012 are very frightening, especially if the final budget is more like the proposed House budget rather than the Senate or the President's proposed budgets. Cuts of up to 60% were projected for some programs, which would've made them impossible to keep operating.
Waukesha has been good to Hebron house and other organizations, but ultimately, for long-term sustainability, there has to be support from government sources, whether state or the federal government. There are extensive studies on best practices and models for efficient program operations that have come out in the past decade. With President Bush's pledge to end Homelessness, programs for homelessness have seen more resources and support than they have in long time, and in those difficult economic times, it'd be a shame to see many of the organizations serving the homeless lose the expertise and staff experience that has been built up over the years because of arbitrary budgeting decisions.
While this donation to keep Siena House running is great, what of the future? I serve on the board of a different organization serving people who are homeless, and the projected budget cuts from federal sources for 2012 are very frightening, especially if the final budget is more like the proposed House budget rather than the Senate or the President's proposed budgets. Cuts of up to 60% were projected for some programs, which would've made them impossible to keep operating.
Waukesha has been good to Hebron house and other organizations, but ultimately, for long-term sustainability, there has to be support from government sources, whether state or the federal government. There are extensive studies on best practices and models for efficient program operations that have come out in the past decade. With President Bush's pledge to end Homelessness, programs for homelessness have seen more resources and support than they have in long time, and in those difficult economic times, it'd be a shame to see many of the organizations serving the homeless lose the expertise and staff experience that has been built up over the years because of arbitrary budgeting decisions.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
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