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Southern Indiana Agencies Face Increased Demand for Rental Assistance | New

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SOUTHERN INDIANA — The Southern Indiana Homeless Coalition says the region’s housing needs are reaching crisis levels.

Leslea Townsend Cronin, executive director of the Homeless Coalition, urges collaboration between local government and community organizations to address housing issues facing residents.

Rising evictions and a lack of stable housing are among the issues facing residents of southern Indiana, and local agencies are facing a ‘tidal wave of concern’ that they won’t will not have the capacity to meet those needs, she said.

FIGHT TO FOLLOW

This summer, partner agencies were telling the coalition they were overwhelmed with requests for rental and utility assistance, and they continue to struggle with growing demand, Cronin said.

Agencies in Clark, Floyd and Harrison counties have seen nearly a 50% increase in demand for rental and utility assistance from 2021 to 2022.

“We were getting a lot of these applications and agency visits, and we really had a big uptick from what we had seen,” she said.

Many agencies are struggling to meet the demand for services as they lack federal funding for COVID-19 assistance.

“The point was that it created a roadblock for the effects of COVID, and it did, except it also created a situation where people are now confused about what services are available and available to them, and that money is drying out.” Cronin said. “And COVID hasn’t gone away yet.”

Faced with a “crack in the dam” created by federal funding, agencies that have been able to offer rental assistance in recent years can no longer offer services at the same level, including organizations such as Hope Southern Indiana and the Salvation Army of Southern Indiana, according to Cronin.

A report by Prosperity Indiana and the National Low Income Housing Coalition calculates that Hoosiers would have to earn a “housing wage” of $16.97 to pay for renting a two-bedroom apartment at fair market value. Housing pay is even higher in the Louisville area.

According to the report.

The Louisville metro area housing wage would be $18.46 to rent at fair market value.

As rental costs rise, Cronin said it’s getting harder for tenants to keep up with rising rent and other costs, and landlords are getting tired of waiting a few months to rental assistance is coming.

Now fewer landlords are offering cheap rentals and local apartments are being sold to companies that are unwilling to accept rental assistance through a third party, she said.

People who previously didn’t need help are now struggling, and they are months behind on rent and at risk of eviction, Cronin said.

“We see these people who have never needed support or assistance, and they don’t know where to go,” she said. “They think, I’m going to pay this month’s rent next month, I can work longer or do whatever, then they can’t and now they’re two months behind.”

Many people are unaware of their eviction rights, and people see local landlords illegally cutting corners in the eviction process, Cronin said.

“We have a lot of landlords who sort of circumvent the system by just posting notes saying, you have to get out in seven days, you’re kicked out,” she said. “It’s not legal – eviction is an expensive process for landlords.”

Cronin points to the difficulty it will cause for people to have an eviction on their case, and she expects a ‘huge population’ in southern Indiana to struggle to find alternative housing after being evicted .

The Homeless Coalition receives a large number of calls from people at risk of homelessness, and there has been a ‘slow increase’ in the number of people the coalition has noticed living on the streets or living in their cars , she said.

Cronin worries about a further rise in homelessness. Although people can fit into shelters run by Catalyst Rescue Mission in Jeffersonville or St. Elizabeth Catholic Charities in New Albany, space is limited, she said.

“If things continue on the trajectory they’re on and a lot of people get kicked out, they won’t be able to keep up with the demand, and the agencies aren’t able to keep up with the demand right now,” Cronin said. said. “They have to say no to people.”

It is often difficult for people to leave social housing due to the high cost of rental accommodation, making it harder for those in need of social housing to access it, she said.

A NEED FOR COLLABORATION

Cronin said she wants to see a regional approach to the housing issue in southern Indiana.

“It’s not just a Floyd County problem, a New Albany problem, or a Clark County problem or a Jeffersonville problem — it’s really a regional problem, because people are leaving New Albany to go to Jeff or Clarksville or whatever, so that’s really a call to action for cities, let’s look at that and come up with a plan of action.

She wants to see what housing is available in the area, whether it’s housing for the workforce or the most expensive houses.

“Everyone should have their place,” she said. “I think looking at housing regionally, not just in Clark and Floyd County, is going to be really important.”

Many agencies are struggling to meet the demand for services as they lack federal funding for COVID-19 assistance.

“The point was that it created a roadblock for the effects of COVID, and it did, except it also created a situation where people are now confused about what services are available and available to them, and that money is drying out.” Cronin said. “And COVID hasn’t gone away yet.”

Faced with a “crack in the dam” created by federal funding, agencies that have been able to offer rental assistance in recent years can no longer offer services at the same level, including organizations such as Hope Southern Indiana and the Salvation Army of Southern Indiana, according to Cronin.

A report by Prosperity Indiana and the National Low Income Housing Coalition calculates that the average Hoosier would need to earn a “housing wage” of $16.97 to pay for renting a two-bedroom apartment at fair market value, and the cost is even higher in the Louisville area.

The housing wage to afford a two-bedroom apartment at market rent would be over $18 an hour in areas where it is more expensive to rent, including the Lafayette-West Lafayette, South Bend-Mishawaka areas , Bloomington, Cincinnati and Louisville.

According to the report, the Louisville metro area “housing wage” would be $18.46 to rent at fair market value.

As rental costs rise, Cronin said it’s getting harder for tenants to keep up with rising rent and other costs, and landlords are getting tired of waiting a few months to rental assistance is coming.

Now fewer landlords are offering cheap rentals and local apartments are being sold to companies that are unwilling to accept rental assistance through a third party, she said.

People who previously didn’t need help are now struggling, and they are months behind on rent and at risk of eviction, Cronin said.

“We see these people who have never needed support or assistance, and they don’t know where to go,” she said. “They think, I’m going to pay this month’s rent next month, I can work longer or do whatever, then they can’t and now they’re two months behind.”

Many people are unaware of their eviction rights, and people see local landlords illegally cutting corners in the eviction process, Cronin said.

“We have a lot of landlords who sort of circumvent the system by just posting notes saying, you have to get out in seven days, you’re kicked out,” she said. “It’s not legal – eviction is an expensive process for landlords.”

Cronin points to the difficulty it will cause for people to have an eviction on their case, and she expects a ‘huge population’ in southern Indiana to struggle to find alternative housing after being evicted .

The Homeless Coalition receives a large number of calls from people at risk of homelessness, and there has been a ‘slow increase’ in the number of people the coalition has noticed living on the streets or living in their cars , she said.

Cronin worries about a further rise in homelessness. Although people can fit into shelters run by Catalyst Rescue Mission in Jeffersonville or St. Elizabeth Catholic Charities in New Albany, space is limited, she said.

“If things continue on the trajectory they’re on and a lot of people get kicked out, they won’t be able to keep up with the demand, and the agencies aren’t able to keep up with the demand right now,” Cronin said. said. “They have to say no to people.”

It is often difficult for people to leave social housing due to the high cost of rental accommodation, making it harder for those in need of social housing to access it, she said.

A NEED FOR COLLABORATION

Cronin said she wants to see a regional approach to the housing issue in southern Indiana.

“It’s not just a Floyd County problem, a New Albany problem, or a Clark County problem or a Jeffersonville problem — it’s really a regional problem, because people are leaving New Albany to go to Jeff or Clarksville or whatever, so that’s really a call to action for cities, let’s look at that and come up with a plan of action.

She wants to see what housing is available in the area, whether it’s housing for the workforce or the most expensive houses.

“Everyone should have a place,” she said. “I think finding housing regionally, not just in Clark and Floyd County, is going to be really important.”

Cronin would like to see more multi-income apartment communities, and she would like to see more programs to help people buy homes instead of renting, saying “affordable housing also means those who can buy a home and reinvest in it. the community”.

The region needs to know how to invest effectively and “build a community around what is really needed”, she said.