Housing

The area where the local government affects homelessness the most is in its plans for providing affordable housing. For many people in Durham there is a real lack of affordable housing, which has resulted in a demand for additional transitional housing and emergency housing services. Indeed, one of the primary contributors to homelessness is lack of affordable housing. A housing unit is considered "affordable" if it costs no more than 30% of the renter's income (NLIHC, 2000). In Durham County, the Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit is $755 per month, compared to $528 for the state as a whole. It is estimated that 40% of the renters in Durham County are unable to afford this rent. In fact, the housing wage, or the hourly wage (at 40 hours per week) needed to afford a two-bedroom unit at Fair Market Rent is $14.52. That is nearly triple the federal minimum wage of $5.15 per hour (NLIHC, 2000).

In response to the shortage of affordable housing, the City of Durham has initiated several housing programs. One of the largest initiatives is that of the Durham Housing Authority. Nearly 10,000 citizens are served by the Durham Housing Authority through three housing programs: Conventional Public Housing Programs, Leased Housing, and the Homeownership Opportunity Program. The services of the Durham Housing Authority are designated for low and moderate-income families and often serve as stepping-stones for upward mobility (www.durhamhousing.org). Another Durham housing initiative is Habitat for Humanity, which has put 100 families into new homes in Durham since 1987 (Habitat for Humanity of Durham, 2000). Rebuild Durham, Inc. is a non-profit corporation that reclaims and renovates vacant, dilapidated houses in Durham to provide affordable rental housing to low-income residents of Durham. The Durham Affordable Housing Coalition through services such as home ownership counseling, assistance in finding affordable housing, and advocacy to improve substandard housing has reached over 650 Durham City residents. TROSA implements a housing initiative specifically for homeless people who are recovered substance abusers.

Durham City housing programs also provide emergency shelter for women and children, substance abusers, veterans, and battered women. At the point-in-time homeless count mentioned in the introduction, 361 people, or 91% of the homeless population counted in the study, were utilizing the services of those programs (The Durham Affordable Housing Coalition, 2000). Despite the availability of these housing options, however, a recent survey by the Durham Affordable Housing Coalition revealed that they fail to meet the housing needs of Durham's homeless population. For example, in terms of emergency services for individuals, the estimated need is 230 beds/units, but the current inventory is only 128 beds/units. For transitional housing for individuals, the estimated gap is 75 beds/units and the estimated unmet need for permanent supportive housing is 69 beds/units. The gap in housing services for families with children is much smaller, with an estimated gap of only 23 transitional housing beds/units (The Durham Affordable Housing Coalition, 2000).

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