Homelessness and Housing Locally: The Facts

Definitions:

• McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (Schools and FPDC): Hotels, homeless shelter, car, couch surfing, etc.

• Housing and Urban Development (HUD- Section 8): Homeless shelter, car, or truly unsheltered outside

School numbers:

• 136 students were identified as homeless in Davie County Schools during the 2018-2019 school year.

• There has been a 98% increase in students experiencing homelessness in our hometown since the 2009-2010 school year.

Housing:

• The current waitlist for a Section 8 voucher is 3-5 years. If you are considered homeless by HUD, the waitlist is 3-6 months.

• The average hotel costs $250 per week (~$1,000 per month).

• Almost every apartment complex in our community has a waitlist.

• In Davie County, 24% of households (~3,827) are cost burdened.

• In Davie County, the average two-bedroom fair market rental costs $729/month.

• In Davie County, a person working full-time at minimum wage can typically only afford $377/month.

• In Davie County, a person working a minimum wage job would need to work 77 hours/week to afford a two-bedroom fair market rental.

• To afford a two-bedroom fair market rental in Davie County, a person needs to make $14.02/hour.

Childcare:

• The current waitlist for a DSS childcare voucher is ~1 year.

• Average monthly childcare costs are:

  • $862 per month for infants (0-1 year old)

  • $823 per month for 2 year old

  • $814 per month for toddlers (3-5 years old)

  • $481 per month for before and/or after school care (includes out of school days care) for school age children

  • $641 per month for full-time summer/track out/school closure only (B/A not needed)

• There are not any second or third shift daycares in Davie County currently.

Home for the Holidays

The Holiday Season is richly upon us. You know the story, you have heard it time and time again. A mom and a dad, with a baby on the way in search of the most basic human need: a place to lay down their burdens and rest their heads. You know how the story ends. Take a minute, settle yourself where you are, take a deep breath, and try to insert yourself into this ancient story. Can you imagine the anxiety and fear experienced by Mary and Joseph, pregnant and tired? Far from home and in need of compassion and empathy from whomever would extend it to them in the form of a place to stay. Imagine that you are the faithful Inn Keeper. The Inn Keeper who initially thought he had nothing to give, but upon further inspection determined that he could extend hospitality to this family in need. What he had to give was not perfect by any means, but it blessed the family profoundly. The inn keeper was not able to help every traveling family that night, but he was able to provide needed shelter to one family.

Friends, during this Holiday Season we may find ourselves experiencing the emotions of many of the characters in this story. Perhaps we feel like Mary and Joseph, anxious for what is to come. Perhaps we feel like the Wise Men, searching diligently for some good news. No matter what emotions we experience this Holiday Season, we can all recognize our place in the story as the Inn Keeper. No matter what our inn looks like: full or empty, immaculate or bare, abundant or scarce, during this Holiday Season we all have something to offer to the modern-day Mary’s and Joseph’s we encounter. No matter if we can offer time or treasure, we can all join the story of the Inn Keeper; sharing in whatever we have to show compassion and empathy to a world that needs it desperately.