Rural Housing Needs Overlooked According to Recent Statistics

The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) released new statistics which demonstrates the needs of renters in rural communities is often overlooked. Using data culled from the 2005 American Housing Survey (AHS) and the 2000 Census of Population and Housing, HAC released the following:

1. Twenty-four percent of the rural housing stock, more than 6.3 million units, is renter-occupied.
2. Four states have rural rental rates higher than the national average – Alaska, California, Hawaii, and Rhode Island.
3. Renters in rural communities live on an average income of approximately $21,000 while owners in rural communities subsist on an average income of approximately $43,000.
4. Thirty-nine percent of minority headed households in rural communities are renters compared to one-fifth of rural white head of households. (Minorities in rural communities are more likely to be homeowners than their urban counterparts).
5. Nearly 40 percent of those renting in rural communities live in single-family homes which his twice the rate of those renting in metropolitan communities.
6. A similar percentage of those renting in rural communities (42 percent) live in multifamily structures with two or more apartments.
7. Those renting in rural communities tend to live in older housing. Thirty-four percent of units occupied by renters in rural communities were built before 1960.
8. Rural renters are more likely to live in substandard housing than those who own in rural communities.
9. Renters in rural communities were more likely to pay more than 30 percent of their income on housing than those who own in rural communities.

HAC says the federal government has helped to improve conditions within rural communities but funding cuts in recent years has reduced the number of available affordable units.


Group Has Resources to Help Secure Homeless Funding

The National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) has materials which can help agencies interested in receiving grants from the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP). HPRP contains $1.5 billion which is distributed by agencies in various local areas. For more information, groups should contact the Alliance at its web site.

Group Highlights Communities Providing Assistance to Homeless Children and Youth

The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) released two publications recently. The first highlights efforts to create four different temporary models for unaccompanied youth. The publication provides a step-by-step guide and includes sample forms and documents. The other updates the most frequently ask questions on the education rights of homeless children and youth. The publication was originally released five years again was prepared in conjunction with the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty.

Group Calls for Extension of Key Provisions to Stimulate the Economy

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) called for Federal stimulus dollars to be used to increase unemployment insurance and for providing fiscal relief to states as more effective in stimulating the economy. The group made this observation in a research paper released on its web site in November.

CBPP states that targeting financial relief to those in need of replacement income will result in an immediate infusion of cash in the economy. The research suggests low and moderate income households receiving unemployment are more likely to spend the money immediate. Higher income households may be able to rely on savings for a period of time before needing to spend.

Providing fiscal relief to states allows governors to reduce the need to cut funds from other important areas such as education and health care. Many states must balance their budgets necessitating cuts to popular and important programs.