Homelessness
The modern phenomenon of homelessness, a reality of daily life for many low-income Marylanders since the early 1980s, has shown no real signs of abatement in recent years. It is estimated that nearly 50,000 Marylanders will experience homelessness for one night or many nights over the course of a year. Emergency and transitional shelter resources, while life-sustaining to some, are inadequate to meet the growing need. Maryland’s Office of Transitional Services reports that 38,390 individuals were sheltered statewide in FY 2004. Unfortunately, people were turned away from shelter on 37,038 occasions due to an insufficient number of beds. Inadequate resources, lack of health care, stagnant wages, and the steady decline of subsidized affordable housing all contribute to the problem of homelessness.
Current Services
• Shelter: Maryland had a network of 184 known emergency shelter, transitional shelter, and motel placement providers in FY ‘04, operating a total of 6,264 shelter beds and serving a total of 38,390 people. The Maryland Emergency and Transitional Housing and Services (ETHS) program provides $3.7 million in State operating funds.
• Mainstream Support Services: People experiencing homelessness, while often eligible, frequently experience difficulty accessing the range of “mainstream” services available to the poor. These programs include Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Maryland Primary Care, and Pharmacy Assistance.
• Targeted Support Services: Several federal programs — operated by the State or nonprofit organizations in Maryland — are targeted to people experiencing homelessness. Among them are the Shelter Plus Care Program, the Health Care for the Homeless Program, and a program for people with mental illness called Projects Aiding in the Transition from Homelessness (PATH).
• Disability Assistance: A descendent of the former General Public Assistance Program, the Temporary Disability Assistance Program (TDAP) provides $185 per month to people with disabilities with no other source of income. The program keeps many vulnerable adults from experiencing homelessness. Most participants are unable to afford their own housing; some live in transitional housing, or doubled up with families or friends. While this support is inadequate, it is an essential feature of Maryland’s safety net. When a similar program was eliminated in 1994, thousands of additional people experienced homelessness.
Gaps and Challenges
• Service Gap: Although FY ‘04 saw a statewide increase of 229,710 bednights and a 16% decrease in the number of turnaways, there remained a reported 37,038 occasions on which people were turned away from shelter due to inadequate resources.
• Housing Gap: According to the 2004 Governor’s Commission on Housing Policy, there will be a statewide shortage of 157,000 affordable housing units over the next ten years. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the stock of affordable housing has declined by 20% over the last 10 years in Baltimore City alone, leaving 45 affordable units for every 100 families who need them. A recent study by the Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies found that 80% of low-income Baltimore renters pay more than 30% of their income for rent, while two-thirds pay more than 50%.
• Health Care Gap: Though the very experience of homelessness can cause medical problems or exacerbate existing illness, as many as 80% of people experiencing homelessness lack access to healthcare. In addition, the inability to pay for health care is a major contributor to financial ruin, which increases the risk of homelessness.
• Income Gap: Wage and income disparity has increased significantly over the past three decades, as the federal minimum wage of $5.15 an hour buys less than it did 30 years ago, even when adjusting for inflation. Research conducted by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) has determined that a Marylander must earn $19.62 per hour in order to afford a two-bedroom apartment at market rate. NLIHC estimates that a minimum wage worker earning $5.15 per hour and working a 40-hour week can only afford a unit costing $268 a month or less. The average cost of a market rate two-bedroom unit in Maryland is $1,020; a one-bedroom unit is $872. According to the affordability standards set by HUD, an individual receiving federal disability assistance ($603 per month for a single adult) can afford to pay $181 per month in rent. The State Temporary Disability Assistance Program (TDAP) provides $185 a month, meaning $55.50 is affordable by the HUD standard.
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Maryland Alliance for the Poor
