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Housing: According to group, 50,000 cannot afford their homes From Previous Page ing service sector — pay less than those salaries. According to a 1996 survey conducted by the Minnesota Department of FIco- nomic Security, the median salaries for jobs such as preschool teacher, secretary, retail salesperson, bank teller and nurs es aide, to name a few, arc not enough to live in an affordable way in most sub urbs. Families drawing two incomes at or near the minimum wage cannot afford those housing costs either, according to the Family Housing Fund. Some people, however, choose to live in housing they technically cannot af ford, because they are willing to pay a premium for other advantages, such as proximity to work or a safer neighbor hood. However, a household directing a higher portion of its income to pay for housing is more vulnerable to unforeseen expenses, such as a car repair or hospital bill, according to the Family Housing Fund. In the Twin Cities area, according to the Family Housing Fund, roughly 185,000 households Ht that description — with annual incomes of less than $30,000 and housing costs command ing more than 30 percent of their wages. A third of those are in the sub urbs. As the number of low-paying jobs has increased, the availability of affordable apartments has decreased, according to the Family Housing Fund. Vacancy rates of apartments in the Twin Cities dropped from more than 7 percent to less than 3 percent in the past ilvo years. Since 1980. when it was formed by the McKnight Foundation and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, the Fami ly Housing Fund has added 16,000 units of affordable housing to the IVin Cities. The McKnight Foundation, a pri vate philanthropic organization found ed by a former 3M executive, gave $68.3 million in grants last year to support the arts, provide human ser vices, protect the environment and supply affordable housing, according to the Foundation. Edina Sun*Currtnt/Wednesday, Aug. 13.1997 7ALSS sponsors discussion on affordable housing A round-table discussion on afford able housing will be held Saturday. Sept. 6, in Minneapolis. The event is free of charge. Sponsored by Lutheran Social Ser vice (LSS), the discussion will be at the LSS Metro Center, 2414 Park Ave. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with lunch following. The Metropolitan Interfaith Coun cil on Affordable Housing (MICAII) is a co-sponsor of the discussion. **Every month it becomes harder and harder to find quality housing at a price that lower-income families can afford," said Bill Vanderwall, director of LSS Housing Services. “As we face significant challenges in this area, it is important to pull to gether community leaders and hous ing advocates in an effort to find solu tions," he said. Participants in the talk include Vanderwall; Sue Watlov-Phillips, di rector of Elim Transitional Housing; Tonya Orr, director of intergovern mental relations with the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency; and Joy Sorensen Navarre, executive director ofMlCAH. Church leaders from across the Twin Cities have been invited to join the discussion. “We need to pool together with church leaders who are already con centrating their efforts on finding so lutions to the housing crisis,* Sorensen Navarre said. *Our churches play such an important role in helping to shape ideas that benefit the com munity." Anyone interested in attending or participating in the round-table dis cussion can call LSS at 989-2271 to re serve lunch. Though the event is free, LSS will solicit a free-will offering to cover the cost of the event. LSS is a statewide social service agency that is owned and governed by the six Minnesota synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. An eight-member board of directors establishes the Foundation’s grant making priorities. Affordable housing has been a cause of the McKnight Foun dation since 1980, according to Sylvia Paine, a Foundation spokeswoman.