Coincidentally, I just finished re-reading Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America.

Guilford County HUD funding recipients:

• Alcohol and Drug Services of Guilford, Inc.; High Point; Project Home Front; SHP; $34,996
• City of High Point; High Point; Housing First; S+C; $77,352
• Family Service of the Piedmont, Inc.; Jamestown; Clara House; SHP; $70,218
• Greensboro Housing Authority; Greensboro; Grace Homes; S+C; $427,536
• Greensboro Housing Authority; Greensboro; Supportive Housing; SHP; $477,369
• Greensboro Housing Authority; Greensboro; Supportive Housing; SHP; $43,730
• Greensboro Urban Ministry; Greensboro; Partnership Village I; SHP; $59,850
• Mary’s House, Inc.; Greensboro; SHP; $135,982
• Open Door Ministries of High Point, Inc.; High Point; Arthur Cassell Transitional Housing Program; SHP; $48,919
• Open Door Ministries of High Point, Inc.; High Point; HMIS – High Point; SHP; $13,750
• Open Door Ministries of High Point, Inc.; High Point; ODM Permanent Supportive Housing Project; SHP; $62,159
• The Salvation Army; Case Management/After Care; High Point; SHP; $19,274
• The Servant Center, Inc.; Greensboro; Servant House; SHP; $47,586
• Youth Focus Inc.; Greensboro; Youth Focus Transitional Living Program; SHP; $51,700

TOTAL $1,570,421.00

SHP = The Supportive Housing Program is designed to develop supportive housing and services that will allow homeless persons to live as independently as possible.
S+C = The Shelter Plus Care Program provides rental assistance for hard-to-serve homeless persons with disabilities in connection with supportive services funded from sources outside the program.

But there’s the unspoken: mental illness, alcoholism, addiction, trauma, family dysfunction. Obtaining or maintaining a job or housing is difficult (and out of reach for some). A number of folks I’ve seen just this week are newly released from jail or prison. Their chances for jobs and housing seem to rise and fall with the economy.

I think of the words a homeless friend once said to me, “If we could get a job, we’d have one.” And another, referencing Greensboro’s wealth of free meal sites and dearth of affordable housing, “We appreciate the food. But you can’t cover up with a chicken wing.” True word.

>> Related post: “Urgent needs for our ministry to unsheltered homeless people: Please help!”

The Greensboro Housing Authority has had its maintenance budget cut for the first time in its history.

Congressional budget cuts have taken $1 million out of the budget, which is 25 percent of the entire maintenance budget, said Don House, chief operating officer for the Greensboro Housing Authority.

The cuts come despite a backlog of repairs that will cost $16 million to fix, House said.

Rent will not increase because that is based on renters’ income and not the authority’s budget, House said.

That puts the authority in the tough position of choosing which projects to fund and which ones to put on hold.

>> Continue reading “Public Housing Maintenance Budget Cut 25 Percent in Greensboro” (with video)

In the face of historic deficits, the nation faces unavoidable choices about how to balance needs and resources and allocate burdens and sacrifices. These choices are economic, political — and moral.

As Christians, we believe the moral measure of the debate is how the most poor and vulnerable people fare. We look at every budget proposal from the bottom up—how it treats those Jesus called “the least of these” (Matthew 25:45). They do not have powerful lobbies, but they have the most compelling claim on our consciences and common resources. The Christian community has an obligation to help them be heard, to join with others to insist that programs that serve the most vulnerable in our nation and around the world are protected. We know from our experience serving hungry and homeless people that these programs meet basic human needs and protect the lives and dignity of the most vulnerable. We believe that God is calling us to pray, fast, give alms, and to speak out for justice.

As Christian leaders, we are committed to fiscal responsibility and shared sacrifice. We are also committed to resist budget cuts that undermine the lives, dignity, and rights of poor and vulnerable people. Therefore, we join with others to form a Circle of Protection around programs that meet the essential needs of hungry and poor people at home and abroad.

Key Principles:

1. The nation needs to substantially reduce future deficits, but not at the expense of hungry and poor people.
2. Funding focused on reducing poverty should not be cut. It should be made as effective as possible, but not cut.
3. We urge our leaders to protect and improve poverty-focused development and humanitarian assistance to promote a better, safer world.
4. National leaders must review and consider tax revenues, military spending, and entitlements in the search for ways to share sacrifice and cut deficits.
5. A fundamental task is to create jobs and spur economic growth. Decent jobs at decent wages are the best path out of poverty, and restoring growth is a powerful way to reduce deficits.
6. The budget debate has a central moral dimension. Christians are asking how we protect “the least of these.” “What would Jesus cut?” “How do we share sacrifice?”
7. As believers, we turn to God with prayer and fasting, to ask for guidance as our nation makes decisions about our priorities as a people.
8. God continues to shower our nation and the world with blessings. As Christians, we are rooted in the love of God in Jesus Christ. Our task is to share these blessings with love and justice and with a special priority for those who are poor.

» Continue reading A Circle of Protection: A Statement on Why We Need to Protect Programs for the Poor

In Greensboro-High Point HMFA [HUD Metro FMR Area], the Fair Market Rent (FMR) for a two-bedroom apartment is $703. In order to afford this level of rent and utilities, without paying more than 30% of income on housing, a household must earn $2,343 monthly or $28,120 annually. Assuming a 40-hour work week, 52 weeks per year, this level of income translates into a Housing Wage of $13.52.

In Greensboro-High Point HMFA, a minimum wage worker earns an hourly wage of $7.25. In order to afford the FMR for a two-bedroom apartment, a minimum wage earner must work 75 hours per week, 52 weeks per year. Or, a household must include 1.9 minimum wage earner(s) working 40 hours per week year-round in order to make the two bedroom FMR affordable.

In Greensboro-High Point HMFA, the estimated mean (average) wage for a renter is $12.29 an hour. In order to afford the FMR for a two-bedroom apartment at this wage, a renter must work 44 hours per week, 52 weeks per year. Or, working 40 hours per week year-round, a household must include 1.1 worker(s) earning the mean renter wage in order to make the two-bedroom FMR affordable.

Monthly Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments for an individual are $674 in Greensboro-High Point HMFA. If SSI represents an individual’s sole source of income, $202 in monthly rent is affordable, while the FMR for a one-bedroom is $631.

A unit is considered affordable if it costs no more than 30% of the renter’s income.

» keep reading: Greensboro-High Point HMFA on NLIHC

• Guilford Interfaith Hospitality Network: family shelter and housing assistance program — click here for website
• Pathways Center & Beyond Pathways: family shelter and permanent housing program for families — click here for web site
• Partnership Village: transitional housing — click here for web site
• Salvation Army: Shelter to Success program — click here for web site
• Greensboro Housing Authority: Public Housing and Section 8 voucher housing program — click here for web site
• Greensboro Housing Coalition: advocates for affordable housing — click here for web site

from Why Area Is Important:

According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development HUD, approximately 643,000 individuals and persons in families experienced homelessness on a single night in January 2009. Multiple federal programs provide assistance targeted to those experiencing homelessness or more broadly assist low-income populations. GAO reported that in 2009 federal agencies spent about $2.9 billion on over 20 programs targeted to address the various needs of persons experiencing homelessness. Some federal programs may offer similar types of services and serve similar populations, potentially leading to overlap or fragmentation.

from What GAO Found:

GAO reported in July 2010 that at least seven federal agencies administered more than 20 programs that provide some type of shelter or housing assistance. Similarly, five agencies administered programs that deliver food and nutrition services, and four agencies administered programs that provide health services including mental health services and substance abuse treatment. This range of programs has resulted in a fragmented service system.

and

Without more formal coordination of federal programs to specifically include the linking of supportive services and housing, federal efforts to address homelessness may remain fragmented and not be as effective as they could be.

under Actions Needed:

The plan recognizes that collection, analysis, and reporting of quality, timely data on homelessness are essential for targeting interventions, tracking results, strategic planning, and resource allocation. As noted above, currently each federal program generally has distinct data requirements. The plan acknowledges that a common data standard and uniform performance measures across all federal programs that are targeted at homelessness would facilitate greater understanding and simplify local data management. Consistent with the plan, representatives with USICH noted that agencies are taking steps to improve and coordinate data, specifically citing the December 2010 announcement by the Department of Veterans Affairs to participate in Homeless Information Management Systems over the next 12 months.The formal coordination among agencies outlined in this plan may minimize fragmentation of federal programs and help address gaps in supportive services while linking housing and supportive services. The linking of these services is considered to be important for effectively delivering assistance to those experiencing homelessness.

» Read U.S. GAO – Opportunities to Reduce Potential Duplication in Government Programs

 

Mark

 

If you’d like to help Mark, here are some things he mentioned that he needs:

• dishes, glasses, utensils
• pots and pans
• TV
• towels
• lamps
• welcome mat

» Keep reading “I’m in MY house” at StreetWatch on Facebook.

» Previously:  (Video) StreetWatch: Mark, back at the homeless camp, looking for work

Here is a list of the Guilford County providers who received renewal funding, along with the amount each received this year and last year: