Wednesday, February 11, 2015

The Crisis In Rural America

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/01/rural-americas-silent-housing crisis/384885



Rural house
Melissa Johnson via Flickr
theatlantic.com
Hello Everyone:

Much of the conversations centered around affordable housing tends to focus on the question of "how to get lower-income residents in expensive cities-like New York, Los Angeles, or San (and their surrounding areas)-safe, affordable places to live."  While this has some logic, after all the are where the jobs and economic vitality, however they are prohibitively expensive for most people, thus creating a housing problem.  In a recent article for The Atlantic, titled "Rural America's Silent Housing Crisis," Gillian B. White points out that "...cities aren't the only places that are lacking when it comes to adequate housing at affordable prices.  In rural America, it's both prices and the terrible conditions of existing homes that are problematic."

Rural rowhouses
photography by Matthew_-jargon777
ruralhome.org
Few people think about rural communities when it comes to housing issues, if at all. Housing, vis-a-vis rural communities, is "...a numbers game."  Citing information form the Housing Assistance Council, "in 2012 only about 21 percent of Americans lived in rural areas, which means that not many people outside those areas-or about 80 percent of Americans-probably feel much association with rural issues."  This makes it more challenging to illuminate on the problems that happen in these communities.  Translated into dollars it means that persuading the powers that be to fund programs that benefit about 20 percent of the total population can be a difficult road to navigate, particularly in difficult economic times.

Thus finding affordable housing in rural communities, where housing can be far less expensive than the nearest city, can present difficulties. Yet, despite the lower cost of living, rural incomes are significantly lower due to limited economic opportunities and struggling industries.  David Dangler, the director of the Rural Initiative at NeighborWorks America, an advocacy organization for affordable housing say, "When we are looking at areas that most challenged economically we're also finding some of the most challenging housing conditions."  Poverty rates in rural communities is higher-"17.2 percent of the rural population living below the poverty line in 2012 versus 14.9 percent overall"-according to HAC 2012 data.  Sheila Crowley, president of the National Low-Income Housing Coalition adds, "Much of the affordable housing stock in rural housing areas is old and in need of repair.  Many of the people who live there don't have the resources that they need in order to keep the houses in good repair."

Mississippi County home
photograph by Jimmy Smith via Creative Common
ruralhome.org
Gillian White uses the example of Lynne Bouknight, who returned to her childhood home in Elk Creek, Virginia after her mother moved for work.  Ms. Bouknight told Ms. White, "...her father was able to take care of the upkeep of the place...tinkering with things and fixing them as they broke.  But by the time she was living in it, the house...began to show its age."  The water pump broke, which Ms. Bouknight was able to deal with by hauling water from outside and pick up kindling wood to making a fire in the wood-burning stove.  However, things began to take a turn for the worse.

The winds tore away at the tin roof and some of the windows began to fall away.  A friend, who had been helping out with maintenance, killed in a hate crime. Then Ms. Bouknight suffered a stroke.  "As the house came apart, my health deteriorated with the house," she said.  Exposed to the elements, the damage to the property began to mount.  Soon, Ms. Bouknight found herself relegated to a small part of the property, where it was warm and dry.

Tin roofed house with trailer
economist.com

Lynne Bouknight tried to get help from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the federal agency mainly responsible for administering rural housing aid, but in typical government fashion the USDA said they could not do anything.  Fortunately, help can from a woman who worked for HOPE Inc, who agreed to look into her situation and see if they could help her out.  Ms. Bouknight said, "One day she came out to the house, I wasn't home.  She looked around and I suppose her heart was touched. She couldn't believe someone could live in those conditions."

HOPE Inc. provides housing assistance and support for individuals living in rural communities. HOPE Inc. was able to salvage Ms. Bouknight's home and she received access to many of the basic necessities, such as: running water, we take for granted.  Help came just in the nick of time, Ms. Bouknight's health had deteriorated to the point where she could not continue to live in the house in the state it was in without some intervention.  While this case may sound extreme, the reality is that dangerous and unhealthy living conditions are not an anomaly in rural communities.  "Residents who cannot afford to buy a new home or save their existing homes are forced to double up with family or they wind up homeless,"  according to Ms. Crowley.  She adds, "It's not visible because people aren't on the streets: They're living in cars and they're living in campgrounds."  According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, "...there are 14 homeless individuals per every 10,000 in urban areas."

Robsart Hospital
Robsart, Saskatchewan
en.wikipedia.org
Be that as it may, when it comes to creating new housing developments, interest in rural communities is thin and those that show an interest, frequently have to overcome hurdles. According to Mr. Dangler,  "Developers can't count on any kind of municipal infrastructure to help them."  Developers often take for granted the availability of municipal infrastructure such as: water, sewers, and access to roads, things not guaranteed in rural communities.  This can make quality new housing development even more of a challenge.

Even finding financial aid for new construction and property rehabilitation is sparse.  "There's a handful of programs that serve people in rural communities.  They tend to be much smaller in scale in terms of the amount of money than the HUD programs.  They also tend be lost in the bureaucracy," says Sheila Crowley.  This is acutely problematic because "rural areas have been traditionally more dependent on upon public subsidies and publicly-funded programs than their urban counterparts," adds David Dangler.  Further, "There can be a disproportionate pain in rural areas as we attempt to right our financial books by cutting back on federal-housing programs."

House in Elk Creek, Virginia
advrider.com
Funds for rural housing is provided by the USDA through a 502 Direct Loan program, a federal government sponsored financial aid program for purchasing or rehabilitating homes in rural communities.  However, the monies available for it have decreased over the part few years, falling from about $2.1 billion in 2010 to around $828 million in 2013.  While some, like Jim King president of the nonprofit housing organization Fahe serving the Appalachia, blame the current administration says,

...the problem is more indicative of the lower prioritization of rural issues overall than it is about one administration in particular.  In light of all other issues, this is just one that lays further down for almost everybody.  And finding funds from other agencies for rural projects can be difficult and highly competitive...leaving rural residents in a tough spot.


Farm with windmill
ruralhome.org
The lack of new housing development, funding, and other unique challenges have rural communities taking matters into their own hands.  With the help of rural-centric nonprofits, rural communities are taking a do-it-yourself approach to community revitalization.  More work begin undertaken by these groups is springing up around the nation. In Appalachia, Knox Housing Partners is working to build affordable senior housing complexes and NeighborWorks of West Vermont has successfully help rehabilitate hundreds of homes, making them more energy efficient something of particular importance for low-income, rural communities.  Some nonprofits are enlisting communities members to actively participate in building and/or repairing not only their own homes but also the homes of their neighbors, thus reducing the economic burden and forging stronger community ties.

Mobile homes near Xenia, Ohio
photograph by Grace the Paragon of Bubblewick
dailyyonder.com 
Further, rural housing advocates are also suggesting that community members consider a middle ground, somewhere between homeownership and renting-pre-fabricated housing.  "Pre-fab" home, typically referred to as trailer homes, "...are smaller than traditional homes, but offer most of the amenities of a house at lower price."  Homeownership is typically higher in rural communities than the national average: "72 percent versus 66 percent in 2012," according to HAC.  The desire to own, rather than rent, is quite strong especially when rental properties are few and far between. Lance George, the director of research at HAC says, "Because there's such a lack of rental housing, manufactured housing in some aspects fills that void.  That is a foot in both worlds."

Despite the good possibilities outlined by Gillian White, making the case for investing in new or rehabilitated rural housing on a large scale can be quite daunting.  She writes, "In a way it seems counterintuitive: funneling money into communities where population numbers are stagnant, if not declining, as more young residents head to cities and suburbs in search of jobs."  This begs the question "Why others have not left?"  The short answer is some residents do not have the means or feel closely connected to their homes and communities.  Many are seniors and the part of the rapidly aging rural population.  This translates into communities that less likely or able to just leave, therefore, requiring that homes be updated and new infrastructure be put in place to allow safer living conditions and access to services such as medical facilities.

The bottom line is revitalizing rural communities is not a small and simple task.  However, according to Jim King, "...that doesn't mean that organizations should shy away, give up, or turn a blind eye...The stakes are very high in rural places if we don't figure some stuff out.  People and places shouldn't be disposable."

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