Homeless shelters are overflowing, so where's the sense of urgency?

In New Hampshire, the issue of rural homelessness suffers from denial and a lack of visibility

October 26, 2003

By Jonathan Baird
Member, New Hampshire Child Advocacy Network steering committee

Homelessness became a recognized and growing part of the American landscape a little over two decades ago during the years of the Reagan presidency. I do not believe the Legislature intended to honor this part of the Reagan legacy when Mount Clay was renamed for our former president.

While the homeless have always been with us, our state response to the current scope of the problem has been weak. Homeless shelters around the state are overflowing, but homelessness is not on any political radar screen.
There is a virtual conspiracy of silence about the extent of homelessness in New Hampshire. We are approaching winter without nearly enough shelter space for individuals and families. Yet there is no sense of urgency.

Homelessness is an immensely complicated problem, even in New Hampshire. Unfortunately, this complexity and our historic skepticism of big-government solutions have led to little state action.

The result is denial and lack of visibility. We have less of a mental image of rural homelessness than its urban counterpart.

Here are some features of the broader homeless picture in New Hampshire.

First, there is a larger crisis of affordable housing that touches far more people than the homeless. In July, the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority released its 2003 survey of rental costs across the state. They found the statewide median two bedroom gross rent was $932 a month. The median cost for all size apartments statewide is $854.

Wages lag far behind rising rents. It is a stretch to believe many homeless people, even those employed full time, could realistically afford these costs without a subsidy. Intact families with two incomes would obviously stand a better chance.

As the rental costs indicate, New Hampshire has the dubious distinction of being one of the least affordable states in which to live in the country. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a full-time worker must earn $16.49 an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment in the state. Many full-time workers do not earn that wage or even near that wage.

The high cost of housing aside, the state lacks an adequate supply of rental housing. Between 1997 and 2000, 40,000 new retail and service jobs were created in New Hampshire, but only 3,547 multifamily homes were built to house these workers.

Blacklisting

If you are homeless, the dilemma is twofold: finding an apartment and persuading a landlord to rent to you. Landlords have wide discretion in choosing renters when vacancy rates are low, as they have been. More tenants compete for the limited housing stock available.

If you are homeless or have been homeless, you will probably have a less stable history of tenancy. You may lack recent landlord references. You might show up on a blacklist kept by landlords statewide.

Technology has allowed landlords to capture the names of all parties in landlord-tenant disputes in the district courts around the state. If you had a prior court appearance, landlords will probably know. It might make you a less attractive candidate for tenancy.

In the past, if you could get through a waiting list, public or federally subsidized housing was a possible option. Now, "one strike and you're out" rules create an obstacle if you had any previous legal difficulties. The subsidized housing world moralistically excludes ex-offenders.

Bottom line: There is not great help out there if you are homeless and hoping to get into permanent housing. While cities and towns have a legal obligation under local welfare law to relieve and maintain the poor, this legal duty is more likely to mean a shelter stay than an apartment.

This summer I saw instances of placement of homeless families in campgrounds by local welfare officials. The town of Marlow assigned a family to a campground in Keene because the homeless shelter was full. The overseer of the poor ordered that the family have "a tent of sufficient size."

Questions

As we descend the shelter options from permanent housing to campgrounds, questions abound. Is there potential housing less expensive than campgrounds? Do we have to provide sleeping bags? How about toilet facilities? This must be the New Hampshire advantage I have read about.

Some cities and towns will tell you they will place a homeless family in a shelter. You then find out the shelter is in Berlin and the family lives in Claremont. With shelter space so tight, pressure is placed on the homeless family to move to a distant part of the state. This is true even where children are in school and a move would mean major disruption.

In the last year, I have observed more evictions caused by unauthorized guests staying in apartments. Homeless people are often doubled up, living with family or friends. Section 8 and public housing usually allow guests for 14 days in a year. Tenants must choose between risking their own housing and forcing their homeless family or friends out.

It is hard not to be cynical about the response of government to homelessness. The other side of the Iraqi adventure with its $87 billion price tag is an absolutely callous disregard for domestic American needs like housing and homelessness. Whether the state will be more responsive remains an open question. It is hard to be optimistic.

Jonathan Baird lives in Wilmot and works for New Hampshire Legal Assistance.