Page 2 • Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019
Plymouth / Wayzata
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Homeless
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family members, “trying to stay out of the elements and
provide some stability for their household,” Ingalsbe
said. “As we are able, we might provide meals, buy a
tank of gas, or pay for a night or two in a motel, as well
as help make connections with Interfaith Outreach or
other forms of assistance in our area.”
According to Interfaith Outreach and Community
Partners Executive Director LaDonna Hoy, the increas-
ing number of homeless people is largely attributed to a
lack of affordable housing and low wages.
“The attrition of affordable rental units – because of
many of them being sold and gone to market rate – is
sending an exodus of low-income families into a very
tough market and that’s who’s showing up at our door,”
Hoy said.
Interfaith Outreach, which provides a variety of ser-
vices for low-income individuals and families in Hamel,
Long Lake, Medicine Lake, Medina, Minnetonka
Beach, Orono, Plymouth and Wayzata, has experienced
a steady increase in requests to help the homeless in the
last four years.
Last year, the nonprofi t served 5,700 people and 24
percent were reported as homeless. More than half of
the homeless were families with children. In 2014, 17
percent of those served were reportedly homeless.
Most of the nonprofi t’s clients are experiencing some
level of housing instability and are “just a heartbeat
away from really struggling at that homeless place,” said
Wendy Geving, program director for the organization.
“While poverty and the struggle surrounding housing
“has been with us for some time, it’s less visible in the
suburban areas,” Geving said.
In Hennepin County, shelters for the homeless are in
downtown Minneapolis. “For some, that doesn’t feel
accessible,” Geving said, as many of those experienc-
ing homelessness choose to stay within the community
where they work and their children attend school.
In 2018, 47 percent of Interfaith Outreach’s home-
less clients reported they were doubling up with friends
or family, 34 percent were living at the local women’s
shelter, Home Free; 7 percent were living in their cars,
6 percent were living in a hotel, and 5 percent were liv-
ing elsewhere.
“We have clients who are living in their cars and are
holding full-time jobs,” Geving said, and for those cli-
ents, Interfaith Outreach will partner with local church-
es and the local YMCA in accessing showers.
While one-third of their clients are unemployed,
many are employed either full-time or part-time. Wages
for those who are working just are not enough, Gev-
ing said, noting 94 percent of their clients are earning
(SUBMITTED PHOTO)
Bobbi Dering, a member of St. Barnabas and the coordinator for the church’s Beacon leadership team, shares a supportive message during
a recent congregational meeting for Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative. Pastor Amber Ingalsbe is also pictured.
incomes below 200 percent of poverty.
The federal government poverty level is an annual
income of $16,000, and double that for a family of two.
“Even incomes that are higher than that, folks are
struggling with what rents are in the market we’re seeing
right now,” Geving said.
Generally, housing is deemed affordable if rent is 30
percent or less of a person’s income.
As of 2015, the average monthly rent in Plymouth
was $1,057, and the monthly rent in the Twin Cities
metro area was $855.
“For the families we serve, if they don’t have a sub-
sidy, they are paying 59 percent,” Geving said, which
equates to two-thirds of their income going for housing.
Low vacancy rates have also caused rents to rise.
A healthy vacancy rate is 5-6 percent. The vacancy
rate is currently at about 1.6 percent in the Interfaith
Outreach service area, according to Geving. Ultimately,
this raises rents and increases the fees to get into rental
units, she said.
The recession and mortgage crisis that began in 2008
forced many homeowners to become renters, contribut-
LENTEN WORSHIP
at St. Philip the Deacon
Ash Wednesday, March 6
ing to a lower vacancy rate in the rental housing market,
according to Geving.
Further fueling the issue is increasing values of rental
properties, especially of older developments, which mo-
tivates property owners to sell, a trend that is occurring
across the metro area. The new owners reinvest in the
properties and increase the rent, ultimately pricing the
original tenants out of the property.
This often leads to other hardships.
“If you can’t get housing to work, it’s very hard to
go after whatever else is in your way if you’re a low-
income family,” said Hoy, who referenced the most re-
cent example, Wayzata Woods, a 107-unit development
in Wayzata.
While not classifi ed as subsidized housing, the devel-
opment was considered naturally occurring affordable
housing and provided lower rents. Now, offi cials expect
monthly rents to increase by as much as $400 in the
development.
“These are families with kids in school ... whose sta-
bility and anchor in the community will be disrupted,”
Hoy said, noting it will be very hard to fi nd an afford-
able alternative in the community.
Offi cials at local school districts are also seeing an
increase in the number of homeless students.
The Wayzata School District had 85 students classi-
fi ed as homeless during the 2017-18 school year, largely
attributed to a fi re that affected a multi-unit housing
complex in Plymouth, displacing as many as seven
families, explained Jennifer Welk, the district’s special
services manager and homeless liaison. This was the
highest number recorded in her 11 years working with
homeless youth in the district and is double the number
See Homeless , Page 5
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