There are over 500 Kaua‘i families, many of them in low- or very-low-income categories, with critical housing needs, a county study shows.
A county plan aims to break down barriers standing in the way of these families and secure housing.
The plan, for the county fiscal year beginning July 1, 2004, concluded that:
- Low- and very-low-income families and households with children are among Kauaians in the gravest need of housing;
- Participants in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rental-subsidy program should be told of their responsibilities to reduce or eliminate lease terminations;
- Economically disadvantaged folks should enroll in Kaua‘i County Housing Agency-sponsored programs to help them buy their first homes.
This year’s plan noted 536 families were in critical need of housing, that 468 Asian and Pacific Islander families needed affordable housing badly, and that 225 very-low-income families also were in dire need of housing.
The last group includes families whose household incomes are apparently between 30 percent to 50 percent of the island’s median income of $45,020.
Parts of the plan, an update of a five-year plan first written in 2000, will be unveiled at a public hearing the Offices of Community Assistance County Housing Agency has scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday, April 2 at 4193 Hardy St. in Lihu‘e.
Public comments will be taken on CHA strategies to address the “hidden homeless,” or those who would be homeless if they did not live with family members or close friends; ways to improve services to eligible affordable-housing applicants; and ways to increase the number of rental leases available to low-income Kauaians.
The plan noted that numbers of affordable rental units have decreased, and those in HUD’s Section 8 rental-subsidiary program have had difficulty finding units.
On the waiting list for rental homes are 836 families, the report said, adding that only 170 families were placed in homes.
Some landlords have stayed away from the program because they have heard some rental-subsidy clients have damaged homes.
To get more people into homes and more landlords to accept the program, CHA officials said they will:
- Do more market-value rent analysis as a way to set HUD payment rates to ensure program participants get into homes;
- Set up yearly outreach efforts with social-service-program providers, real estate agents and community organizations;
- Work to better inform Section 8 program applicants about their responsibilities under the program, thereby possibly reducing or eliminating lease violations and increasing numbers of participating landlords in the program;
- Screen Section 8 program participants to increase acceptance of the program by property owners.
The plan also noted CHA officials have helped economically disadvantaged folks seeking housing in the following ways:
- Increasing the number of affordable rental units for larger families, those with four or more persons, particularly those with incomes at or below 30 percent of the island’s median income;
- Increasing numbers of rental units for smaller families, those with two to four persons, particularly those with incomes below 50 percent of median income;
- Increasing numbers of rental units for elderly persons, particularly those below 50 percent of the median income;
- Supporting opportunities for first-time home-buyers through a self-help housing program, home-buyer loan program, and a Section 8 “Homeownership Program,” particularly for those whose incomes are between 51 and 80 percent of median income.
In spite of the shortcomings, CHA officials reported they have implemented programs to help put people into housing, including:
- Assisting the Kauai Housing Development Corporation, a nonprofit housing developer, to obtain tax credits and rental-housing trust funds to build another 40 units at the county-owned Kalepa Village rental apartments in Hanama‘ulu. With infrastructure in place, the development should reach a total project size of 180 units;
- Providing home-buyer education classes to assist 29 households consisting of 35 residents to become ready to buy their first homes;
- Assisting 15 low-income families with low-interest financing;
- Having CHA Section 8 staffers participate in workshops to streamline program policies and procedures.
The CHA has authorization to use $6.1 million in federal funds for the rental subsidiary program, and another $56,758 for a “family self-sufficiency coordinators grant.”
Staff Writer Lester Chang may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net.
