Page 10 - THE GAP: The Affordable Housing Gap Analysis 2019

THE GAP A SHORTAGE OF AFFORDABLE HOMES, 2019 FIGURE 6: SEVERELY HOUSING COST-BURDENED RENTERS BY INCOME, 2017 Middle-Income Above Median Income 0.5% Extremely Low-Income 72.5% of $1,149.4 e U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (2018) thrifty food budget for a family of four (two adults and two school-aged children) is $640 per month, leaving only $50 for transportation, child care, and other necessities. Severely housing cost-burdened and poor renters make signi cant sacri ces to pay for housing. Poor families with children who are severely cost- burdened spend 46%, or $354 per month, less on food, transportation, and healthcare than poor families who are not housing cost-burdened ( Joint Center for Housing Studies, 2018). Even with these sacri ces, severe housing cost burdens make it di cult for poor renters to keep up with their rent. e 2013 American Housing Survey (AHS) indicates severely cost-burdened poor renters are more than twice as likely to fall behind on their rent, and be threatened with eviction, than poor renters with no cost burden. 4 eweightedaverageoftwo-bedroomFMRsbyFMRarea(NLIHC,2018d). 6 Low-Income 0.8% Financial hardships and housing instability caused by the lack of a ordable housing have signi cant consequences for the health and well-being of poor families. Cost- burdened adults are more likely to cut-back on needed prescription medications or healthcare treatments (Maqbool, Viveiros, & Ault, 2015). A recent study of more than 22,000 families with children found that those who were behind on paying their rent were at higher risk of fair or poor health for both the children and their caregivers (Sandel, et al., 2018). ese families were also at higher risk of other hardships like food insecurity and foregone healthcare. Children’s cognitive development and academic achievement also su er from the lack of a ordable housing. A national study found that children of cost-burdened families perform worse on cognitive development tests than children of families in a ordable housing, likely due to lower expenditures on child enrichment (Newman & Holupka, 2015; Newman & Holupka, 2014). Families who cannot keep up with their rent may be more likely to experience forced moves because of eviction or fear of eviction. is housing instability disrupts learning and negatively impacts academic achievement, especially among elementary and middle-school students (Brennan, Reed, Sturtevant, 2014; Herbers et al., 2012; Voight, Shinn, & Nation, 2012). Housing instability and homelessness can cause signi cant disruptions to critical health services, especially for chronically ill individuals, and increase adverse mental health outcomes related to stress (Maqbool, Viveiros, & Ault 2015). And a study of 6.4% Very Low-Income 19.8% Source: NLIHC tabulations of 2017 ACS NATIONAL LOW INCOME HOUSING COALITION