We recommend that the county give priority one status to people with disabilities and to people who are homeless. On the January 2009 point-in-time count, there were 1,152 homeless people counted in Wake County. Of these folks, 247 were living outdoors on the street and at least 60 had a serious mental illness. Maintaining priority one status for this population is one way we as a community can continue to increase our efforts to provide housing for those who need it most.
The need is not just for more units for persons with disabilities and persons who are homeless, but for rental assistance for these tenants as well. In order to earn enough money to afford the fair market rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the Wake County, a person would need to earn an hourly wage of $13.75 – far more than someone earns at minimum wage and even further out of reach for someone living on a disability payment of just $674 per month. We ask the county to allocate dollars for rental assistance for people with very low incomes and with disabilities. Rental assistance, often in the form of rental vouchers, can make or break the financial health of a development.
We at CASA ask that the county’s Consolidated Plan continue to address the need for affordable rental housing that is developed for households at 50% or below the area median income. The County should target its dollars at the lowest segment of the population as the market often provides for those at fifty percent and above. We agree with the City of Raleigh Affordable housing task force that “the greatest need for public sector support is for very low-income households.”
This allocation of resources is in the spirit of HOME and CDBG dollars. These dollars are awarded to a community based on the number of people living in poverty in that area. Therefore, it is fitting that these dollars be dedicated to housing this population.
Furthermore, we urge the County to continue to provide funding for the creation of more supportive housing for persons with disabilities and histories of homelessness. Supportive housing, which costs around $30 per day, has proven to be a far more financially sustainable solution to housing people with complex problems than frequent stays in publicly-supported institutions like hospitals, jails, and shelters.
