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Mom, dad, and three children sleep in their car. The home they rented burned dovyn and although both parents work, they couldn’t find rental housing large enough for their fam ily that they could afford with their limited income (occupancy standards used by land lords prevent them from renting a one- or nvo-bedroom apartment). Like many low- income households, they live pay check to pay check and do not have the money to pay a security deposit and first month’s rent to get into a place. Sin2le mother and her three children become homeless after going home for a month to take care of a dying parent in another state. When they returned, they lost their housing. Mom works in an accounting position but cannot find affordable housing. V. How does lOCP Respond to Homelessness? ■ Homeless prevention: In 1999, lOCP provided 592 emergency housing assists, totaling $183,000, to prevent homelessness. This emergency assistance is primarily used to as- . sist clients with rent and rent deposits; a few families are helped with mortgage pay ments. lOCP caseworkers advocate on behalf of families of families that are near homeless by negotiating Mth landlords and working with lenders and housing counselors to prevent home foreclosures. ■ lOCP works with homeless families by helping them locate temporary shelter, provide assistance for storage of their belongings while in temporary shelter, make a plan to ob tain permanent housing, and provide assistance to move once they find housing. • lOCP caseworkers work with both homeless and near-homeless families to overcome barriers to long-term housing stability. Tabic: 1999 Percent of lotai tmcrsency nousu j Type of Assurance i 12 iLxpenainires dv i vpe Percent of Total Emergency Housing Expenditures (5183,000) i Shelter (hotel costs)3% j Movina^storage expenses________________2% i .A.Dolication fees 0.2% Securitv deposits 8% 1 Rent or partial rent pavmenu 78% Monease pavments 1 1 9% ! i Home repairs _________________________1 0.2% VI. The Shortage of Affordable Housing The trends wimessed by lOCP—increases in homelessness, homeless children, and working families e.xperiencing homelessness—mirror regional trends. The incidence of homelessness m die metro area tripled from 1987 to 1999, and the number of homeless children grew more than seven times (Office of Economic Opportunity, Minnesota Dept, of Children Families and Leam- ine, 1999). The shortage of affordable housing is causing rents to increase at a faster rate than wages for workers earning low wages, and it has led to the current housing crisis where working families and children are homeless. lOCP works io incicose and preserve the supply of affordable housing by providing community education about local housing needs, by advocating for local and legislative policies that support affordable housing, and by using the lOCP Housing Fund to seed affordable housing projects and opportunities. Prepared by Interfaitb Outreach & Commuaity Partners, May 2000