Southern Indiana agencies face increased demand for rental assistance
Oct. 7—SOUTHERN INDIANA — The Homeless Coalition of Southern Indiana says the area's housing needs are reaching crisis levels.
Leslea Townsend Cronin, executive director of the Homeless Coalition, is urging collaboration between local government and community organizations to address housing issues facing residents.
Rising evictions and lack of stable housing are among the issues facing Southern Indiana residents, and local agencies are facing a "tidal wave of concern" that they will not have the capacity to meet these needs, she said.
STRUGGLING TO KEEP UP
This summer, partner agencies were telling the coalition they were being overwhelmed with requests for rental and utility assistance, and they are continuing to struggle with rising demand, Cronin said.
Agencies in Clark, Floyd and Harrison counties have seen a nearly 50% increase in demand for rental and utility assistance from 2021 to 2022.
"We were getting a lot of those applications and walk-ins at the agencies, and we really just had a big increase from what we had seen," she said.
Many agencies are struggling to keep up with the demand for services as they run out of federal COVID-19 relief funding.
"The goal of it was for it to create a dam for the effects of COVID, and it did that, except for it also created a situation where people are now confused about what services are out there and available to them, and that money is drying up." Cronin said. "And COVID isn't gone yet."
As they face 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 the services at the same level, including organizations such as Hope Southern Indiana and the Salvation Army of Southern Indiana, according to Cronin.
A report from Prosperity Indiana and the National Low Income Housing Coalition calculates that Hoosiers would need to make a "housing wage" of $16.97 to afford rental of a two-bedroom apartment at fair market value. The housing wage is even higher in the Louisville area.
The housing wage to afford a two bedroom apartment at fair market rent would be more than $18 an hour in areas where it is more expensive to rent, including the Lafayette-West Lafayette, South Bend-Mishawaka, Bloomington, Cincinnati and Louisville areas, according to the report.
The Louisville metro area's housing wage would be $18.46 to rent at fair market value.
As rental costs go up, Cronin said it's becoming more difficult for tenants to keep up with rent and other rising costs, and landlords are becoming fatigued of waiting a few months for rental assistance to come through.
Now, fewer landlords are offering low-cost rentals, and local apartments are being sold to corporations that are not willing to accept rental assistance through a third party, she said.
People who previously did not need assistance are now struggling, and they are falling behind several months on rent and becoming at risk for eviction, Cronin said.
"We're seeing those people who haven't historically needed support or assistance now do, and they don't know where to go," she said. "They're thinking, I'll get this month's rent together next month, I'll be able to work over time or do whatever, and then they can't and now they're two months behind."
Many people are not aware of their rights when it comes to eviction, and people are seeing local landlords illegally cutting corners in the eviction process, Cronin said.
"We have a lot of landlords who are kind of bypassing the system by just posting notes saying, you've got to be out in seven days, you're evicted," she said. "That's not legal — eviction is an expensive process for landlords."
Cronin emphasizes the difficulty it will cause for people to have an eviction on their record, and she expects a "huge population" from Southern Indiana to face challenges finding another home after being evicted.
The Homeless Coalition is seeing a large amount 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 car, she said.
Cronin is concerned about a further increase in homelessness. Even if people are able to get 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 that they're on and a lot of people are getting evicted, then they're not going to be able to meet the demand, and agencies right now aren't able to meet the demand," Cronin said. "They're having to tell people no."
It is often difficult for people to move from public housing because of the high cost of rental units, and that makes it more challenging for those who need public housing to access it, she said.
A NEED FOR COLLABORATION
Cronin said she wants to see a regional approach to the issue of housing in Southern Indiana.
"It's not just a Floyd County issue, a New Albany issue or a Clark County or Jeffersonville issue — it really is a regional issue, because people are moving out of New Albany to go to Jeff or Clarksville or whatever, so it really is a call to action for cities, let's look at this and come up with an action plan."
She wants to look at what housing is available in the region, whether that is workforce housing or the most expensive homes.
"Everybody should have a place," she said. " I think looking at housing on a regional level, not just Clark and Floyd county, is going to be really important."
Many agencies are struggling to keep up with the demand for services as they run out of federal COVID-19 relief funding.
"The goal of it was for it to create a dam for the effects of COVID, and it did that, except for it also created a situation where people are now confused about what services are out there and available to them, and that money is drying up." Cronin said. "And COVID isn't gone yet."
As they face 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 the services at the same level, including organizations such as Hope Southern Indiana and the Salvation Army of Southern Indiana, according to Cronin.
A report from Prosperity Indiana and the National Low Income Housing Coalition calculates that the average Hoosier would need to make a "housing wage" of $16.97 to afford rental of 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 fair market rent would be more than $18 an hour in areas where it is more expensive to rent, including the Lafayette-West Lafayette, South Bend-Mishawaka, Bloomington, Cincinnati and Louisville areas.
According to the report, the Louisville metro area's "housing wage" would be $18.46 to rent at fair market value.
As rental costs go up, Cronin said it's becoming more difficult for tenants to keep up with rent and other rising costs, and landlords are becoming fatigued of waiting a few months for rental assistance to come through.
Now, fewer landlords are offering low-cost rentals, and local apartments are being sold to corporations that are not willing to accept rental assistance through a third party, she said.
People who previously did not need assistance are now struggling, and they are falling behind several months on rent and becoming at risk for eviction, Cronin said.
"We're seeing those people who haven't historically needed support or assistance now do, and they don't know where to go," she said. "They're thinking, I'll get this month's rent together next month, I'll be able to work over time or do whatever, and then they can't and now they're two months behind."
Many people are not aware of their rights when it comes to eviction, and people are seeing local landlords illegally cutting corners in the eviction process, Cronin said.
"We have a lot of landlords who are kind of bypassing the system by just posting notes saying, you've got to be out in seven days, you're evicted," she said. "That's not legal — eviction is an expensive process for landlords."
Cronin emphasizes the difficulty it will cause for people to have an eviction on their record, and she expects a "huge population" from Southern Indiana to face challenges finding another home after being evicted.
The Homeless Coalition is seeing a large amount 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 car, she said.
Cronin is concerned about a further increase in homelessness. Even if people are able to get 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 that they're on and a lot of people are getting evicted, then they're not going to be able to meet the demand, and agencies right now aren't able to meet the demand," Cronin said. "They're having to tell people no."
It is often difficult for people to move from public housing because of the high cost of rental units, and that makes it more challenging for those who need public housing to access it, she said.
A NEED FOR COLLABORATION
Cronin said she wants to see a regional approach to the issue of housing in Southern Indiana.
"It's not just a Floyd County issue, a New Albany issue or a Clark County or Jeffersonville issue — it really is a regional issue, because people are moving out of New Albany to go to Jeff or Clarksville or whatever, so it really is a call to action for cities, let's look at this and come up with an action plan."
She wants to look at what housing is available in the region, whether that is workforce housing or the most expensive homes.
"Everybody should have a place," she said. " I think looking housing on a regional level, not just Clark and Floyd County, is going to be really important."
Cronin would like to see more multi-income apartment communities, and she would love to see more programs to help people buy homes instead of rent, saying "affordable housing also means those who can buy a home and reinvest in the community."
The region needs to know how to effectively invest and "build a community around what's actually needed," she said.
