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<br />Challenges
<br />Individuals and families living in Boulder County who are in
<br />need of PSH and intensive services are not only challenged by
<br />issues related to mental health, substance abuse, trauma, and
<br />income instability. They are also challenged by living in a high
<br />cost housing market with rising costs, low vacancies, and land-
<br />lords who can be choosy about whom to rent units to. All
<br />housing and service providers interviewed during the develop-
<br />ment of this study stressed the challenges faced by their clients
<br />and agency staff in finding housing units for the homeless, even
<br />those who have been offered some sort of temporary or per-
<br />manent rental assistance.
<br />Individuals in need of Permanent Supportive Housing often
<br />do better in a setting where the building is 100% PSH units,
<br />services are brought or are housed on site, and the property has
<br />features such as 24-hour security and staffing, and group meeting
<br />areas. Families also benefit from central coordination of services,
<br />though they may access some services on site and other in the
<br />surrounding community. Families benefit from being surround-
<br />ed by other families, either others in a PSH program or other
<br />families who are not necessarily in a specific program for home-
<br />less families. Being close to a social network is usually benefi-
<br />cial to homeless parents. Being close to schools, childcare, and
<br />employment is important for families.
<br />Providers in Boulder County indicate a need for PSH for
<br />families, with a preference for set asides of units within prop-
<br />erties serving the broader population. Homeless families in
<br />Boulder County live throughout the County, and units should
<br />be available in the City of Boulder, Longmont, Louisville,
<br />Superior and other communities. Service providers have case
<br />management staff who can visit families and ensure that they
<br />have access to needed services and supports, but long drives
<br />and a scattered client base are a challenge, according to staff at
<br />EFFA. Another challenge faced by homeless families and
<br />agency staff is finding housing units that will lease to their
<br />tenants.
<br />The following section of this report will highlight the Boulder
<br />County Housing market and the challenges faced by homeless
<br />families and individuals, and other low and moderate income
<br />households looking for an affordable, available housing unit.
<br />Need Conclusions
<br />While data related to chronically homeless individuals and
<br />families is collected by a variety of agencies and coalitions with
<br />different complex methodologies, it is clear that there is a need
<br />to provide Permanent Supportive for at least 225 unserved
<br />chronically homeless individuals throughout Boulder County.
<br />There is also a need to provide PSH to families with a chron-
<br />ically homeless adult, and for youth on their own. The number
<br />of people counted in any of the data systems used in Boulder
<br />County is going to vary as chronically homeless people are
<br />served, stop working with service of agencies, or move to other
<br />communities. Solutions need to be built around the best esti-
<br />mate possible, and measured over time as the coordinated intake
<br />systems continue to get better.
<br />Boulder County's chronically homeless individuals are predom-
<br />inately male, older than other homeless persons, and have been
<br />homeless on average, for over two years. While a third sleep in
<br />shelters, the other two thirds sleep on the streets, on sidewalks,
<br />in doorways, parks, in cars, vans and other places not meant for
<br />human habitation.
<br />As by definition, most have disabilities that include problems
<br />with emotional, physical or sexual trauma, problems with drugs
<br />or alcohol, or mental health issues. They frequently visit the
<br />emergency room, take rides in ambulances, are hospitalized and
<br />have frequent interactions with police. The estimated cost of
<br />these public services is $43,300 per year.
<br />By comparison, the cost of providing PSH in Boulder County
<br />is approximately $11,700 per year. Boulder County commu-
<br />nities could realize a $31,600 cost savings per year by providing
<br />PSH to their chronically homeless residents.
<br />Boulder County Housing Market
<br />Overview
<br />Boulder County Human Services recently published a report
<br />titled Housing Stability. The report highlights the greatest
<br />hurdles faced by low and moderate income households living
<br />in Boulder County in the current housing market. Since 2011,
<br />rents in Boulder County have increased between 14 and 50%,
<br />depending upon the community a unit is located in. While
<br />rents have escalated, from 2009 to 2013, the Boulder County
<br />median income rose just 4%. The market conditions make it
<br />even more challenging for those living in poverty.
<br />Sixty-seven percent (67%) of respondents to the 2015 Point -
<br />in -Time homeless count in Boulder County said that an in-
<br />ability to pay their rent or mortgage was contributing factor to
<br />them becoming homeless — the top reason among all options
<br />provided on the survey. Boulder County has the second highest
<br />number of homeless persons counted in the 2015 Point in Time
<br />survey of all seven Metro Denver counties, behind only Denver.
<br />Boulder County also had the second highest recorded number
<br />of chronically homeless individuals after Denver. The following
<br />investigation into housing costs reveals why housing costs are
<br />the largest contributor to homelessness in Boulder County
<br />The Denver Apartment Association publishes a quarterly survey
<br />of rents and vacancies throughout the metro Denver area. In
<br />the 3rd Quarter of 2015, the average vacancy rate for Boulder
<br />and Broomfield Counties was 3.6% for all rental units, and the
<br />average rent was $1,504. A worker earning $10 an hour in
<br />Boulder County can afford a housing payment of $520 per
<br />month. The average rent is three times this amount. A house-
<br />hold needs to earn just over $60,000 per year to afford the
<br />average rent without being cost burdened.
<br />Vacancy rates in Boulder in the 3rd Quarter of 2015 ranged
<br />from 3% in the CU area and in Longmont, to 4.3% in the City
<br />of Boulder.12 When a community has a vacancy rate of 5%, it
<br />is considered to be in market equilibrium. Rates below this
<br />indicate a lack of housing and demand that exceeds supply.
<br />When housing costs rise at a faster pace than wages, the cost
<br />burden placed on households to pay for housing increases.
<br />Households paying more than 30% of their income for housing
<br />are considered "cost burdened". Currently, 59% of Boulder
<br />County renters are housing cost burdened, a significant increase
<br />since 2000 when 41% of renters were cost burdened.
<br />Severe cost burden occurs when a household pays 50% or more
<br />for housing expenses. In Boulder County, 30% of all renter
<br />households are severely cost burdened. Low income households
<br />are more likely to be severely cost burdened. Those at 30% AMI
<br />or less have a severe cost burden rate of 75%, while 28% of those
<br />earning between 31 and 50% AMI were severely cost burdened.
<br />As households struggle to pay for housing, they become more
<br />housing insecure. The loss of wages, unexpected medical costs,
<br />12 Denver Metro Apartment Vacancy and Rent Survey,
<br />Denver Metro Apartment Association, 3rd Quarter 2015.
<br />or the cost of childcare and transportation can push families
<br />and individuals into homelessness. This is especially true for
<br />low income households, who have less savings and personal
<br />safety net than other higher income households.
<br />The Status of Children in Boulder County 2015 report moni-
<br />tors many factors related to child welfare in Boulder County
<br />The 2015 report compares how children are faring throughout
<br />the County in 2015 compared to past years. The percentage of
<br />children living in poverty in Boulder County in 2014 increased
<br />74.2% from 9.3% of all children to 16.2% of all children. The
<br />study notes that the child poverty rate has not declined since
<br />the end of the recession to pre -recession levels. The study also
<br />notes that in 2014, 15.6% of all children living in Boulder
<br />County live "at the edge of poverty, with family incomes between
<br />100% and 200% of federal poverty Nearly 1 in 3 Boulder
<br />County children were below 200% ofpoverty"13 Boulder County
<br />is an expensive community for families to live in, and housing
<br />costs are one of the most expensive items a family must budget
<br />for.
<br />The Colorado Center for Law and Policy published The Self -Suf-
<br />ficiency Standard for Colorado annually. The standard is the
<br />amount of income, calculated by hourly wage or annual income,
<br />that it takes households in each Colorado County to afford
<br />basic housing, childcare, food, transportation, health care and
<br />other day to day costs. The 2015 self-sufficiency standard for
<br />a family of four in Boulder County with one child in school
<br />and one preschooler is a household income of $86,644, behind
<br />only Douglas, Summit, Pitkin and Routt Counties. This annual
<br />income is 313% of the federal poverty level for 2015. In com-
<br />parison, the same family would need $63,069 to live in Denver
<br />County. For single adults in Boulder County, the self-suffi-
<br />ciency standard was $28,209 or a wage of $13.36 per hour.14
<br />Not only are low income households paying more for housing
<br />in Boulder County, and a higher percentage of their income,
<br />the number of affordable rental units is declining. A study by
<br />czbLLC for Boulder Housing Partners in 2014 found that there
<br />was a decline of 5,650 private market rental units with affordable
<br />rents in the City of Boulder between 2000 and 2012, or 471
<br />units per year. The study forecasts that increasing declines will
<br />leave no affordable rental units in the City of Boulder by the
<br />years 2017 or 2018.15 The loss of affordable rental units is not
<br />just an occurrence in the City of Boulder. Rising rents in
<br />Longmont, Louisville, Lafayette, Lyons, and in the
<br />unincorporated areas of Boulder County leave low income
<br />residents with little income growth with fewer and fewer choices
<br />of where to live.
<br />US Census data shows that there has been a loss since 2009 of
<br />4,135 rental units priced at $750 or less in Boulder County, or
<br />36% of all units that had been available in this price range in
<br />2009. Households earning HUD's extremely low income
<br />maximum of 30% of the Area Median Income with four house -
<br />13 Status of Children in Boulder County 2015, Boulder County
<br />Movement for Children, 2015.
<br />14 The Self -Sufficiency Standard for Colorado 2015,
<br />Colorado Center on Law and Policy, 2015.
<br />15 Czb Notes for Boulder Housing Partners, March 2014
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