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

2. Our Mission Reduce Homelessness Increase Community Support
Promote Self-Sufficiency

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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?

13. 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

14. Thank You
Thank You!
Go to 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