United Way: Legislature reallocating housing funds
Andrea Krieger, Special to the News Journal 3:04 p.m.
CST December 20, 2014
United Way of Escambia County’s board of directors recently approved a commitment to join the Sadowski Coalition. This decision was the result of information provided by United Way of Florida’s Executive Director Ted Granger. He said funding appropriated for affordable housing over the last five years has consistently been reallocated to general revenues by our state legislature.
With 47 percent of Escambia County and 32 percent of Santa Rosa County households struggling to make ends meet, committed community leaders felt our local voice needed to be added to a diverse collection of 30 statewide organizations that support the Sadowski Housing Coalition’s 2015 legislative priority. This priority is that the Florida Legislature use all of Florida’s housing trust fund monies for Florida’s housing programs.
The Sadowski Housing Coalition projects there will be $245.33 million due to the fund in 2015. This is based on a documentary stamp projection form that was presented at the August Estimating Conference. In considering our endorsement of the coalition, I shared the following numbers that Granger emailed me earlier this month. They present a clear picture of the issue at hand.
What the numbers don’t show are the families who are suffering to balance inadequate income against a high cost for housing that is partly to blame for the fact that Florida has the fourth largest homeless population in the nation. On the “bare minimum” budget presented in United Way of Florida’s recent ALICE report on households described as Asset Limited, Income Constrained and Employed, the housing budget for a family of four is a nominal $748 a month.
In reality, not many in our community can find family housing for that amount. In fact, the Sadowski Coalition reports that “over 900,000 very low income Floridians pay more than 50 percent of their income on housing.” In our community, like much of Florida, many citizens live with the threat of homelessness. One crisis, missed paycheck or decrease in work hours can cause a family suffering from “extreme housing burden” to join the ranks of area homeless.
In Escambia County, the ALICE report shows 12,188 of our homeowners are challenged with this extreme housing burden (defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to be present when more than 35 percent of the household income is spent on housing). 18,547 renters in Escambia County are among the 40 percent whose rent requires more than 35 percent of their income be used. Santa Rosa households are not immune with 7,276 homeowners and 5,126 renters suffering under the same extreme housing burdens. To exacerbate the challenge, the affordable housing inventory across the two counties is insufficient and we have a gap of 10,260 units needed by those who require “affordable rental units.”
Many families who are struggling paycheck to paycheck do not have the credit or resources necessary to own their home and consequently, affordable rental units are in high demand. As I mentioned during a recent Prosperity Partnership mini-summit, affordable housing is essential but we must also consider transportation access close to that housing stock. For a family of four to meet the $699 a month budgeted transportation costs, everything must align perfectly. $699 sounds like it would be enough, but in addition to car payments, consider that maintenance, insurance and gas must also be purchased with that $699 a month.
We are all impacted by this issue. Though we may not all need affordable housing, we are all participating in supporting it. Florida’s housing programs are funded by doc stamps paid on all real estate transactions. This tax was raised in 1992 to provide a dedicated funding stream for state and local housing trust funds. Having just refinanced my mortgage, it is important that my $941 in doc stamps make it to the intended programs. Taxes are to support the good of the whole, and when they are reappropriated for heaven only knows what we lose faith in the system and we lose hope for those that the system is to support.
In our community, this is a danger for the recent flood victims who might not be assisted if State Housing Initiatives Partnership dollars being used by case managers disappear. Seventy percent of monies to local government housing trust fund for the SHIP program funds housing programs in our county. Right now, $150,000 has been provided by the county to assist a long list of survivors on repairs to their homes. We anticipate that these funds will only stretch to 14 or 15 homes. How much bleaker would the picture be if more of the $226 million in 2014 affordable housing fund was diverted to general revenues? Without the $167 million that made it to the affordable housing programs, we would have even less support for families in our community that are struggling to meet household budgets on limited income.
While grateful for Granger’s email that brought the Sadowski Coalition to the attention of the United Way board, voters and the general public have to care if the trend is to change. Believing that care comes from knowledge, sharing when injustice occurs is just as important to me as sharing the good that is ever present in our community.
State issues require our personal involvement to ensure our community and those in need are helped by the systems created for the general good. Those with no voice need others to serve as their champion. If you would like to find out more about the Sadowski Coalition visit www.SadowskiCoalition.com.
To get involved with United Way, call 434-3157.
Andrea Krieger is the president and CEO of United Way of Escambia County.
Article accessed at: http://www.pnj.com/story/life/2014/12/20/united-way-column/20697813/ on December 22, 2014
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