HOUSING & HOMELESSNESS
2017 marked a change in attention to Wake County’s affordable housing crisis as the long-awaited plan to help manage the mounting housing deficits for low-income families was unveiled. Starting from a down position of over 56,000 units, much has been accomplished by the County since 2017 including departmental restructuring, implementation of programs, and the addition of progressive and innovative leadership. Even so, the deficits continued to grow as households from all economic strata felt the impacts of growth and competition for value in the housing market.
By May 2020, the Housing Affordability and Community Revitalization Department faced a daunting task. The affordable housing deficit had reached 60,775 units as of December 2019, the pandemic restrictions were in full force, unemployment rates were soaring, and the COVID-19 virus was striking at the County’s most vulnerable communities at an alarming rate. Getting people sheltered, socially distanced, and using appropriate safety precautions became a matter of life and death. To complicate matters, compliance with COVID-19 safety further reduced the number of beds available in the shelters. Our Wake County Commissioners and the Housing Affordability and Community Revitalization Department pushed forward with the House Wake! initiative in an expedited response to address the surge of homelessness at the brunt of the pandemic. They worked with community partners to:
help thousands avoid eviction,
permanently house 500 residents,
provide temporary solutions for 200 households,
provided furnishings for 300 households, and
added 20 housing units to the House Wake! program
Understanding how and where to help with homelessness and the affordable housing crisis as a community requires an understanding of the system that coordinates local resources to get people Housed First. Starting with the homeless support system, federal dollars flow down from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD for short, to local programs through over 20 grant programs. To apply for those funds, community partners providing direct services associated with homelessness are required to do so through the formation of a collaborative, called a Continuum of Care (CoC), where services and supportive activities can be coordinated. North Carolina has 12 CoCs organized by region, one of which includes the Balance of Rural Counties. Ours is the Raleigh/Wake CoC.
The Raleigh/Wake Partnership to End and Prevent Homelessness was created to be the Collective Lead and Collaborative Applicant for HUD funding. As such, it also manages its CoC’s homeless data, ensures compliance with funding requirements, and works to continuously improve the system’s effectiveness. In 2018, HUD began requiring CoCs to standardize prioritization of referrals for homeless services using a single point of entry though which the services for participants seeking help could be assessed according to their vulnerability. Again, the Raleigh/Wake Partnership to End and Prevent Homelessness stepped into the role and established a single point of entry, called the HouseWake! Access Hub.
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What is Coordinated Access? It is that single point of entry into the homeless system of services.
The “Coordinated Access” system is the HUD mandated, single point of entry into services in addition to supports for service providers to manage the flow of services, strengthening a Housing First service system. These Coordinated Access processes include:
access to shelter diversion and homeless prevention for those who are not literally homeless but who meet HUD defined risk factors
access to shelter and street outreach for those who are literally homeless according to HUD defined criteria
access to housing services for the most vulnerable such as Rapid Rehousing, Permanent Supportive Housing, and other housing supports
case conferencing supports for housing case managers
best practice training supports for service providers across the CoC
data management, training, and oversight for the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS)
Entry into the referral process begins with a brief client assessment. Information about the client seeking assistance populates the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) with data about their background, demographics, needs, and risk factors in the prioritization process. The HMIS is also used by each of the providers to document services rendered and the client’s progress throughout the duration of their care. The resultant is an accounting of performance, gaps, and areas for growth and development across the homeless service system and its programs. For the client, the goal is the restoration of stability and independence free from homelessness.
Advocacy for Affordable Housing
Referring back to the CPN’s description of the Slippery Slopes of Poverty, housing is considered AFFORDABLE when the cost, including energy and utilities, is no more than 30 percent of the household budget. Using 2019 data, the NC Housing Coalition estimates 41 percent of renters in Wake County have difficulty affording their homes and 16 percent of our homeowners are in the same boat. This equates to nearly 100,000 households that are considered cost burdened and are vulnerable to financial instability. The economic impacts from the pandemic are certain to increase these numbers.
If we look at an economic snapshot before the pandemic, a 2-bedroom housing wage in Wake County would be $17.67. It would take a laborer making minimum wage 97 hours a week to afford the same housing. What about public assistance and loan programs for low-income families? Most set minimum requirements as a percentage of the Area Median Income (AMI). In a metropolitan area, like Wake County? The AMI is approximately $59,000 for an individual and $84,000 for a family of four. So, if a family of four applies for a low-income loan, it may require a household income of 60 percent of the AMI or $45,000. If it is a two-income family, that may work as long as there are no unexpected expenses or illnesses. What happens to a single Mom with three children?
The Connection
Homeless
Homeless services are provided in Wake County through a spectrum of providers including non-profits, faith-based ministries, and agencies alike. However, no matter what service area connection to resources begins -- reentry, human trafficking, family services, unemployment, healthcare, and so on – the first step is always housing and shelter. One of challenges is breaking down these service silos to provide access and information about how to connect to the homeless system, coordinated intake, and the resources within the CoCs. Even with the rich resources and expansive efforts being made to address Affordable Housing and Homelessness is Wake County, there are still unsheltered people and families across Wake County.
The Raleigh Wake Partnership to End and Prevent Homelessness provides current data regarding our County’s homeless population.
January 13, 2020:
226 households (individuals and families) being served in homeless shelter
963 households (individuals and families) waiting for a bed in a shelter
320 referred to the Housing Navigation Unit
November 15, 2019, News and Observer: The Salvation Army’s Project Catch estimates Wake County’s homeless children to number close to 5000.
Affordable Housing
The original study behind the HouseWake! plan estimated that Wake County loses approximately 900 units per year to re-development and adds another 1300 units of demand from birth and population migration. Affordable housing stock in Wake County is scarce to non-existent. Raleigh’s rental market as of October of 2020 prices a 958 square foot apartment at $1,258 with only 20 percent of the rental market priced under $1000. It is by far the most significant barrier case managers face as they work to stabilize households across all services. The battle is not just in availability. It is also finding landlords that will afford grace for bad credit histories, prior evictions, justice system involvement, and a host of lasting effects imprinted from the slide down the slippery slope.
Active Projects
Project 1
The Transformation Exchange, LLC, and CarePoint are teaming to develop a technology application to help local faith-based and street ministries identify where community supports are needed for homeless encampments across Wake County. The application will help ministries and services better understand how to connect with the homeless populations who remain unsheltered.
Project 2
The CPN recognizes Affordable Housing as the single most important “need” in Wake County and the foundational, concrete resource upon which all other Social Determinants of Health depend. It constitutes the largest expenditure in the household budget and, therefore, dictates the affordability of all other family needs. Housing, and the lack of safe affordable housing, drives up our area’s living wage, directly impacts health disparities, increases cases of neglect, impacts a child’s performance in school, and can even be linked to trauma and victimization.
As such, the CPN has prioritized affordable housing advocacy, the recruitment of affordable housing stock, and its connectivity to the coordinated access process for 2021. CPN activities and advocacy will work to:
Engage landlords and organizations in participating in HouseWake!
Encourage faith-based and private sector advocates to participate by collectively funding housing units for HouseWake!
Raise awareness across service silos and connect providers to the CoC and HouseWake! Access Hub.
Advocate for incentives that engage the private sector in building affordable housing stock.