County poverty: Housing is just 1 factor

from the Ithaca Journal

“You can't look at housing in isolation.”

That's what Cornell University professor Joe Laquatra told our reporters for the latest installment of our Touched by Poverty series, and we agree with him.

The housing issue in Tompkins County touches all walks of life. Finding affordable good housing is a problem many people here have faced, not just those on the lower rungs of the financial ladder.

The latest installment of our poverty series ran Saturday. And for many people in this community, the words probably hit home. People like Jaime Clemens admit they made some mistakes that ultimately cost them a roof over their heads. We were happy to read Clemens is back on track and recently found an apartment. Others, like Valerie Wilson, needed the help public housing offers to get her life going in a certain direction. She was able to parlay the reduced cost of living in public housing into a chance to go to school, become a registered nurse and raise three children. Now she looks forward to saving enough money to buy a house someday. That's one of the benefits of government-funded housing — that it can truly help people — and critics of it need to remember what the mission of public housing is in the first place.

But for every Clemens or Wilson there are many others who are struggling. In 2007, the American Red Cross of Tompkins County provided more than 11,000 bednights for people who needed a place to sleep. The Red Cross attributes the dip from prior years to better case management, but in the prior six years the number of bednights increased, topping out at almost 16,000 in 2006. And even though the number was lower for last year, John Ward, the director of homeless services at the Red Cross, said the shaky economy could ratchet that number up again. In fact, he used the word “explosion.”

But even when people find housing, it is just one piece of a complicated puzzle for those who hover around the poverty line in Tompkins County and elsewhere. Transportation, jobs, health care and many other factors contribute to making it very difficult for people to “get out” of poverty. For every Valerie Wilson there are many stories of people who don't make it, whether it is because of bad luck, addiction, lack of skills or any number of other reasons.

As government, not-for-profits and the private sector continue to look at housing issues in this county, they know they have to look at the whole situation. While housing is important — perhaps even the most important factor in getting someone out of poverty — many other factors must be considered if we are to truly see success.

And looking at the big picture is extremely important. In the story, you'll note that we couldn't find anyone who would guess at how much money is spent on housing aid in the county on a yearly basis. It is safe to say many millions (there was more than $9 million alone in federal and state money for Section 8 and public housing). Since housing is a big recipient of tax-dollar funding, the programs must be done right and with purpose. If not, the mistakes are measured in millions of dollars, and the public's desire to help will diminish.