Friday, April 10, 2015
Counting the homeless in Darke County
Janey Christman, Director at CAP, said, “ As we all know, families have many dynamics and when families are forced to live with each other due to financial hardships this often leads to a dysfunctional family situation. Many families coming into the shelter are a result of this outcome. HUD defines homeless as ‘unsheltered homeless - a place not meant for human habitation, such as cars, parks, streets, and abandoned buildings; sheltered homeless - as persons who reside in an emergency shelter, transitional housing or a hotel/motel’.” Christman further stated that Darke County Metropolitan Housing Authority has been working with the Dayton VA in placement of ten homeless veterans with vouchers through the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) program.
In addition, according to the 2014 homeless report available from the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio titled Out of Reach 2014, lack of affordable housing and poverty are the greatest contributors to homelessness for families. They further state that in order to afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment at Fair Market Rent in Ohio, renters need to earn $13.84 per hour. This is Ohio’s 2014 Housing Wage, revealed in the report.
“Nearly one-third of all Ohio renters struggle each month to pay for necessities and still stay housed,” said Bill Faith, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio. “With so many experiencing unemployment or underemployment, being able to afford a modest two-bedroom rental is a very real question for a lot of Ohioans right now.”
Working at the 2014 minimum wage in Ohio, a family must have 1.7 wage earners working full-time, or one full-time earner working 70 hours per week, 52 weeks per year to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment. “In addition to supporting an increase in the inventory of affordable housing, we support an increase in the federal minimum wage, which has been static since 2009,” said Faith. According to estimates in a recent Congressional Budget Office report on the minimum wage, an increase to $10.10 per hour would boost the weekly earnings of 16.5 million low-wage workers and bring 900,000 people above the poverty line. “Increasing the minimum wage would be one way to start closing the ‘out-of-reach’ housing gap.”
The typical renter in Ohio earns $11.56, which is $2.28 less than the hourly wage needed to afford a modest unit. The report found that nowhere in America do minimum wage workers earn enough to afford a decent, affordable two-bedroom apartment. In 2014, the national Housing Wage is $18.92.
“In Ohio, we’re fortunate to have the Ohio Housing Trust Fund (OHTF), which supports critical housing needs across the state,” said Faith. “The Out-of-Reach report highlights the importance of dedicating all available funds to the OHTF to help finance affordable housing projects and programs.”
COHHIO is a coalition of organizations and individuals committed to ending homelessness and to promoting decent, safe, fair, affordable housing for all, with a focus on assisting low-income people and those with special needs. For more information, visit: http://www.nlihc.org/oor/2014
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