GOOD SHEPHERD HOUSING AND FAMILY SERVICES SFDC FORUM ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING NOVEMBER 8, 2017

Our Mission Reduce Homelessness Increase Community Support Promote Self-Sufficiency

Our History 1974 – Founded by parishioners of Good Shepherd Catholic Church 1994 – Hired first case manager (70 tenants) 2004 – First housing units purchased 2014 – Established 14-member Community Leadership Council 2017 – Sixty-two owned and thirty leased housing units (1- to 4-bedroom) in 20 different communities along 15 miles of Richmond Highway from Huntington to Lorton

More than an Apartment Serve working households, mainly families Provide support services such as budgeting and money management Provide rent and utility assistance to prevent homelessness 1,000 households kept in their housing every year

Helping Families Stay Housed GSH serves families whose gross incomes are generally between $33,800 and $56,400 per year Area Median Income in Fairfax County (family of four persons) = $112,844 So we serve families at 30 to 50 percent AMI Most families are single parents working one or two jobs FT job at minimum wage = $15,600/year FT office or administrative job at $20/hour = $41,600 Starting teacher salary in Fairfax County = $47,516 Starting law enforcement salary in Fairfax County = $53,371

Helping Families Stay Housed If a family spends 35% of their gross income on rent, they can afford: $1,020-$1,460/month if they make $35-50,000/year $1,460-$2,190/month if they make $50-75,000/year A 2-bedroom apartment at Mount Vernon Gardens costs $1,533/month plus utilities A 2-bedroom apartment at Good Shepherd Housing costs $1,350/month including utilities Good Shepherd Housing has housing with $2-300/month advantage

The Families We House At least 6 veteran families Federal and County government employees Fairfax County Public School employees, including teachers Paralegals and law office employees Inova Hospital employees, including operating room technicians

Strategic Goals Solve homelessness through affordable housing Increase the number of owned units to a total of 200 by 2025 Combine housing with support services, more than “warehousing” folks Blend affordable housing with market rate housing

Loss of Affordable Housing in DC Metro Area Region-wide trend, not only Fairfax County Arlington – 86% lost between 2000 and 2016 Washington – 34,000 units lost in last ten years Alexandria – 90% lost between 2000 and 2017 with 1,749 affordable units remaining Most market affordable units are lost to rent increases and rising land values

Loss of Affordability of Housing – Flat incomes, Rising Rents FLATTENING INCOMES… In Fairfax County, family of four with two children needs $74,082 to meet their expenses Half of all households earn annual income less than $80,000 for a family of four in the Greater Mount Vernon area Slowing in household income gains: Since 2000, 32 percent increase Since 2010, 3 percent increase

Loss of Affordability of Housing – Flat incomes, Rising Rents … AND RISING RENTS In 2017, average monthly rent of one-bedroom apartment is $1,561, up 31 percent since 2008 Zillow study makes connection between homelessness and increasing rents Five percent rent increases in NYC result in 3,000 more homeless Five percent rent increases in DC result 224 more homeless or 2.6 percent increase

Way Forward on Solutions Preservation of existing affordable rental units Capital Sources Locally, project-based housing vouchers and well-funded housing trust fund Nationally, headwinds from potential tax code changes causing reduction in low income tax credit equity Impact resulting in loss of one million affordable housing units over ten years nationwide Ways to offset loss?

Way Forward on Solutions (con’t) Related Issues Small sized, generally high-cost in-fill projects 79 percent of multifamily affordable units in buildings with less than 50 units Not enough scale for economies to be gained in financing Few affordable sites accessible to transportation, amenities Construction costs Lengthy and risky entitlement process

Thank You Thank You! Go to www.goodhousing.org and register for our free bus tours (1 ½ hours in length) to get an introduction to GSH and visit one of our housing units