KOOTASCA Crisis Housing: operating on "a wing and a prayer"
By Mary Lou Aurell
The homelessness crisis is ballooning in Itasca County as the unemployment rate increases and poverty becomes pervasive.
Becky Boelter, director of KOOTASCA Crisis Housing, pointed out that the county’s unemployment rate is 12%, compared to the state’s 8-9%.
Her program, operating on a financial ‘wing and a prayer’, helps as many as possible who have become homeless because of layoffs, cut-backs in hours, eviction, foreclosure, abuse, addiction, among other reasons.
Crisis Housing responds in three ways. Its major effort focuses on Family Homeless Prevention (FHP) that provides direct services to keep families housed. According to Boelter, the major component of FHP is rent assistance. Currently, 249 households are receiving such help which is paid through a $225,000 budget.
The homeless who are referred to Crisis Housing or who walk in for help are housed quickly to minimize their homeless days, Boelter explained.
Usually families receive rent assistance for one month to stabilize their housing situation. “But they can get more help if it is needed,” Boelter said. She added that families receiving such assistance must have a plan to earn enough to eventually pay their rent.
FHP dollars may also abate mortgage foreclosures. The agency has dealt with 30 foreclosures. “We want people to come to us before their foreclosures have gone to the sheriff,” Boelter explained. “The best time to approach KOOTASCA is when they are three months behind in their mortgage payments.”
“Again, this is short-term funding,” Boelter said. “Depending on their needs, we connect them with other community resources such as Lutheran Social Services.”
The third FHP activity relates to transportation assistance that takes working family members to their jobs and appointments so their housing remains stable.
The biggest barrier to getting clients housed is the lack of affordable housing. “It’s so hard out there right now,” Boelter said. “There is only a 10% vacancy rate.”
Often the housing that is affordable is substandard, which means it is not clean, safe or fit for human habitation. “There is a lot of aging structures in this area,” Boelter noted. These are usually not energy efficient and could have mold. Yet people will live in these units because they are affordable on their fixed or low incomes. “It’s either rent something like this or live in your car,” Boelter said. “It becomes the lesser of two evils.”
Often the housing burden for the poor is high, more than the 30% of their income that the federal Housing Urban Development (HUD) authority recommends. The Section 8 housing program administered by the Itasca County Housing & Redevelopment Authority (ICHRA) subsidizes the cost of housing up to the market rate if it passes HUD inspection. If the rent is above the market rate, the overage falls back to the tenant. Yet there are 500 applicants on a two-year waiting list for this program.
It could be worse. “In the metro area the waiting lists are closed,” said Diane Larson, ICHRA executive director.
HUD also subsidizes the construction of housing where individuals pay only 30% of their income for a roof over their heads. Currently, apartment complexes having some of these subsidized units in towns all over Itasca County are full except for one bedroom apartments for the elderly or disabled. “There is less of this subsidized housing for families,” Larson said. “That’s why a lot more is needed.”
KOOTASCA has a very successful shared housing program for homeless men that gives them a second chance to start over and become self-sufficient, Boelter said. Staff is on site to supervise, guide and provide case management. The men, who must be clean and sober, are referred by Hope House, local treatment programs or probation officers.
KOOTASCA has $15,000 to run such a house in Itasca County and another in Koochiching County. These houses are full.
In addition, Boelter’s staff oversees transitional housing for homeless families, most of which have single women as head of household. This is long-term housing for up to two years because the adults must find a job with a living wage or return to school, secure transportation and child care, as well as overcome domestic abuse.
KOOTASCA has three single family units in this program and a budget of $32,000 to manage and staff them.
The agency has three main funding sources: the MN Housing Finance Agency, the Office of Economic Opportunity and HUD. It also holds fundraisers, receives grants and private donations for its work.
“Still, I’ll have to purchase tents to get some of the homeless through the summer,” Boelter said. “They have no where else to go.”
For more information about housing assistance agencies and resources click here.
The homelessness crisis is ballooning in Itasca County as the unemployment rate increases and poverty becomes pervasive.
Becky Boelter, director of KOOTASCA Crisis Housing, pointed out that the county’s unemployment rate is 12%, compared to the state’s 8-9%.
Her program, operating on a financial ‘wing and a prayer’, helps as many as possible who have become homeless because of layoffs, cut-backs in hours, eviction, foreclosure, abuse, addiction, among other reasons.
Crisis Housing responds in three ways. Its major effort focuses on Family Homeless Prevention (FHP) that provides direct services to keep families housed. According to Boelter, the major component of FHP is rent assistance. Currently, 249 households are receiving such help which is paid through a $225,000 budget.
The homeless who are referred to Crisis Housing or who walk in for help are housed quickly to minimize their homeless days, Boelter explained.
Usually families receive rent assistance for one month to stabilize their housing situation. “But they can get more help if it is needed,” Boelter said. She added that families receiving such assistance must have a plan to earn enough to eventually pay their rent.
FHP dollars may also abate mortgage foreclosures. The agency has dealt with 30 foreclosures. “We want people to come to us before their foreclosures have gone to the sheriff,” Boelter explained. “The best time to approach KOOTASCA is when they are three months behind in their mortgage payments.”
“Again, this is short-term funding,” Boelter said. “Depending on their needs, we connect them with other community resources such as Lutheran Social Services.”
The third FHP activity relates to transportation assistance that takes working family members to their jobs and appointments so their housing remains stable.
The biggest barrier to getting clients housed is the lack of affordable housing. “It’s so hard out there right now,” Boelter said. “There is only a 10% vacancy rate.”
Often the housing that is affordable is substandard, which means it is not clean, safe or fit for human habitation. “There is a lot of aging structures in this area,” Boelter noted. These are usually not energy efficient and could have mold. Yet people will live in these units because they are affordable on their fixed or low incomes. “It’s either rent something like this or live in your car,” Boelter said. “It becomes the lesser of two evils.”
Often the housing burden for the poor is high, more than the 30% of their income that the federal Housing Urban Development (HUD) authority recommends. The Section 8 housing program administered by the Itasca County Housing & Redevelopment Authority (ICHRA) subsidizes the cost of housing up to the market rate if it passes HUD inspection. If the rent is above the market rate, the overage falls back to the tenant. Yet there are 500 applicants on a two-year waiting list for this program.
It could be worse. “In the metro area the waiting lists are closed,” said Diane Larson, ICHRA executive director.
HUD also subsidizes the construction of housing where individuals pay only 30% of their income for a roof over their heads. Currently, apartment complexes having some of these subsidized units in towns all over Itasca County are full except for one bedroom apartments for the elderly or disabled. “There is less of this subsidized housing for families,” Larson said. “That’s why a lot more is needed.”
KOOTASCA has a very successful shared housing program for homeless men that gives them a second chance to start over and become self-sufficient, Boelter said. Staff is on site to supervise, guide and provide case management. The men, who must be clean and sober, are referred by Hope House, local treatment programs or probation officers.
KOOTASCA has $15,000 to run such a house in Itasca County and another in Koochiching County. These houses are full.
In addition, Boelter’s staff oversees transitional housing for homeless families, most of which have single women as head of household. This is long-term housing for up to two years because the adults must find a job with a living wage or return to school, secure transportation and child care, as well as overcome domestic abuse.
KOOTASCA has three single family units in this program and a budget of $32,000 to manage and staff them.
The agency has three main funding sources: the MN Housing Finance Agency, the Office of Economic Opportunity and HUD. It also holds fundraisers, receives grants and private donations for its work.
“Still, I’ll have to purchase tents to get some of the homeless through the summer,” Boelter said. “They have no where else to go.”
For more information about housing assistance agencies and resources click here.
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