STRAFFORD COUNTY COMMUNITY NEEDS
HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING
Shelter providers in Strafford County have experienced an
increase in assistance to families with children in the past
several years. It can take only a single precipitating event --
auto breakdown, illness -- to thrust a family into homelessness.
Unable to secure affordable housing, unable to reestablish
themselves on limited incomes, hundreds of Strafford County
residents have found themselves in emergency situations.
In 2003, My Friend's Place housed 209 people (82 adult men, 78
adult women, and 49 children), providing 7,022 bed nights. 48
percent were Strafford County residents. 22 families were
included among the number sheltered. During that year My Friend's
Place had 1,516 turn away events, individual requests for
emergency shelter which could not be provided.
Increasingly represented among the homeless are the physically disabled, the chemically addicted, and the mentally disabled.
During the period Oct. 1, 2005 to Sept. 30, 2006, the SCCAC Homeless Outreach Intervention Coordinator assisted 172 homeless persons. This number included 49 single persons and 28 families, to include 26 persons under the age of 18, 44 persons under age 7, and 2 persons over age 65.
The Homeless Center for Strafford County's season ended on May 4, and most of the seasons's totals increased in 2007-08. The number of residents last year increased from 84 the previous year to 98. The number of children at the facility increased from 38 last year to 47 this year. The total number of families rose from 26 to 28 this year. 35 women made use of the facility, and 16 men.
Total bed nights rose from 2,841 to 3,262 this year.
The average age for a resident this year was 19 years, compared with 20 last year.
The average length of stay dropped slightly from 33.8 to 33
nights.
Strafford County residents accounted for the majority of
residents this season: Rochester, 43; Dover, 23; Farmington, 3;
Somersworth, 1; out of County, 28.
The shelter typically operates from mid-October until the end of April. The shelter serves women, children and families at a capacity of 26 residents. The homeless center employs overnight paid staff members and an executive director, but approximately 55 active volunteers take up the bulk of the work.
"POINT IN TIME" SURVEY
How many homeless persons are receiving assistance on a given day in Strafford County?
Although a recent one-day "snapshot" indicates the
state's homeless population is increasing, local officials say
the Seacoast's numbers remain stable.
The survey, conducted by the Department of Health and Human
Services and Office of Homeless, Housing and Transportation
Services, was intended to quantify how many homeless people are
in the state on any given day.
The survey identified 1,300 homeless individuals across the state
from noon on Jan. 25 to noon on Jan. 26, up 56 from last year's
total of 1,244.
In Strafford County, 21 single homeless persons and 11
individuals in homeless families were found sheltered, and 20
single homeless persons and 11 individuals in homeless families
were unsheltered..
How much an extremely low income household (earning 30% of the Area Median Income) can afford for monthly rent, compared to Fair Market Rent for a two bedroom unit:
In the Portsmouth-Rochester HMFA, the 2008 Fair Market Rent
(FMR) for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,008. In order to afford
this level of rent and utilities, without paying more than 30% of
income on housing, a household must earn $3,358 monthly or
$40,300 annually.
Assuming a 40-hour work week, 52 weeks per year, this level of
income translates into a Housing Wage of $19.38. The Housing Wage
for New Hampshire is $19.45.
In order to afford the FMR for a two-bedroom apartment, a minimum
wage earner must work 119 hours per week, 52 weeks per year. Or,
a household must include 3 minimum wage earner(s) working 40
hours per week year-round in order to make the two bedroom FMR
affordable.
The estimated mean (average) wage for a renter is $13.65 an hour.
In order to afford the FMR for a two-bedroom apartment at this
wage, a renter must work 61 hours per week, 52 weeks per year.
Or, working 40 hours per week year-round, a household must
include 1.4 workers earning the mean renter wage in order to make
the two-bedroom FMR affordable.
Source: Out of Reach, National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2008
On average, Strafford County has the highest housing wage of the New Hampshire counties.
Note: Federal minimum wage in 2004 was $5.15 per hour. Hourly wage needed to afford the Fair Market Rent on a modest 2-bedroom unit assumes paying 30% of income on housing and working 40 hours a week for 52 weeks a year.
Source: America's Rental Housing, Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, 2006
The New Hampshire Housing Authority reports that the monthly median gross rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Strafford County is $956, an amount requiring an annual income of $38,200 to support. This represents a $27 rise from the 2006 survey. Median gross rental costs for a two-bedroom apartment in Strafford County have risen 15.2% since 2002.
In Strafford County, 6.2% of two bedroom units in the NHHFA Rental Cost Survey (affordable to a three-person household earning 50% of Median {$31,905}) are at or below an affordable gross rent of $798.
Source: 2007 Residental Rental Cost Survey, New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority
Source: Out of Reach, National Low Income Housing Coalition, September, 2001
Source: Directory of Assisted Housing, New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority, 2006