Rents too high for low incomes

[Big Kahuna]

Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Rents too high for low incomes

Costs unlikely to go down

By Taryn Plumb TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Monick Lopez takes home $360 every week, far from enough for her to afford anything but a tiny, cramped apartment.

Even then, she needs assistance from the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance to cover her $625 a month rent.

“I’m renting a studio because I can’t afford anything better,” said the 20-year-old single mother who makes $10.75 an hour registering patients for UMass Memorial Medical Center. “I want my daughter to have her own room, her own space, but I can’t provide that for her.”

Ms. Lopez, who makes well over minimum wage at her temporary full-time job, is part of a growing number of people scraping by because of high housing costs.

According to a study released yesterday by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, things aren’t going to improve any time soon — especially in Massachusetts.

The annual report found that housing costs are continually on the rise and have outpaced earnings, in part, because of a 13 percent increase in fuel and utility costs. It’s gotten so bad, in fact, that even a full-time worker making minimum wage can’t afford a one-bedroom apartment anywhere in the country, according to the study.

“This problem is real for us, and we see it every day,” said Grace K. Carmark, executive director of the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance. The organization offers prevention programs and shelter support for low-income and homeless people. “These numbers confirm what thousands of clients face in their housing situations.”

According to the report, Massachusetts is the third least-affordable state in the nation when it comes to housing costs, behind Hawaii and California.

By those standards, a person living in Worcester County has to earn $16.48 per hour — more than three times the $6.75 Massachusetts minimum wage — to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment. Likewise, the area’s Fair Market Rent, for a two-bedroom apartment is $857, which requires an annual household income of $34,280. (Fair Market Rents are estimates set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that include shelter and the cost of utilities.)

If you do the math, a person making minimum wage would have to work 98 hours a week for all 52 weeks of the year to be able to afford the government-set standard.

Those numbers are distressing, considering the 71,735 renter households in Worcester County, according to the report.

“The cost of housing has continued to rise at a rate that outpaces what people can hope to earn,” Ms. Carmark said. “At the same time, the federal and state governments have gutted the subsidy programs that used to make up the gap.”

She pointed to the significant cuts in Massachusetts’ Section 8 housing and Rental Assistance programs. The Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance intends to push for the restoration of such funding.

She also pointed out that if people lack stable housing, they’re more susceptible to health issues and their children are more likely to cause problems at school.

“It’s a huge community problem,” she said. “The math isn’t working for people, and this winter you add the cost of heating. People are really struggling.”

In a conference call for the media yesterday, Sheila Crowley, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, lamented the situation as well, saying that the housing crisis RIVALS THAT OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION.

She also maintained that if government agencies don’t come up with a cohesive plan, the U.S. is going to see an increase in poverty and homelessness.

Ms. Lopez, for her part, hopes she doesn’t end up in either of those categories.

She’s optimistic that she can get a permanent full-time job with UMass, which will provide her with benefits and job security. She also intends to re-enroll at Quinsigamond Community College, where she has put in a year of studies.

Besides that, she does her best to keep positive about the situation.

“My daughter (who will be two in February) gives me the strength of a thousand men,” she said. “Seeing her smile just makes me happy. I’m only going up from here.”

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