The truth about homelessness in Delaware

On any given night, there are about 1,000 people in Delaware experiencing homelessness — including more than 200 children. 

As we enter the coldest time of the year, we felt it is important to share some facts about why that's the case.

We asked Housing Alliance Delaware, a nonprofit that manages the state's centralized intake for homeless people, to help us debunk some of the biggest misconceptions about homelessness in the First State. 

Here's what they told us: 

Myth: There are plenty of affordable apartments in Delaware for those who need them. 

Fact: For every 100 renter households living below the poverty line in Delaware, there are only 24 available and affordable rental homes, Housing Alliance said.

Nationally, there are 35 available and affordable rent homes for that demographic, referred to as "extremely low income" renter households.

In Delaware, the fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,136, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's 2018 report. In order to afford that level of rent and utilities without paying more than 30 percent of income on housing, a household must earn $45,439 per year. 

Assuming a 40-hour work week 52 weeks per year, that translates into a "state housing wage" of  $21.85 per hour.

Delaware's minimum wage is $8.25 per hour. On Jan. 1, increases to $8.75 and on Oct. 1, it will be $9.25.

That means someone working for the current minimum wage in Delaware would need to put in 106 hours per week to afford a two-bedroom fair market rent apartment. That's 2.6 full-time jobs. 

For a one-bedroom fair market rent apartment, a person would need to work 87 hours per week at minimum wage, or 2.2 full-time jobs. 

Delaware has the 15th highest "state housing wage" in the nation, the coalition reported. 

"This has been a silent crisis in Delaware," Housing Alliance said in its report. "While the reason for this are multifaceted, ensuring availability of affordable housing to Delaware's modest and low-income residents is one area where we can alleviate the crisis." 

In 2017, 78 percent of people experiencing homelessness in Delaware were newly homeless, meaning they have not been homeless during the prior two years. 

Of the 1,082 homeless people surveyed by Housing Alliance in January 2018, 20 percent reported having been evicted in the last year. Delaware's eviction rate is twice the national average, the alliance reported. 

Myth: Disabled people shouldn't be homeless because they receive Social Security benefits.

Fact: Delaware is one of 22 states where the average one-bedroom rent is higher than the monthly Supplemental Security Income benefit, according to Housing Alliance. 

"Simply put, rental housing is financially impossible for those depending on Social Security Income alone," Housing Alliance said in its annual report. 

In Delaware, a person with a qualifying disability received $750 per month in 2017. The average state rent is $937 per month for a one-bedroom apartment. That means a person relying on disability benefits would need 126 percent of their monthly income to afford housing.

In 2017, 16,905 Delawareans receiving Supplemental Security Income benefits could not afford a one-bedroom apartment anywhere in the state.

Myth: People are poor, and eventually homeless, because they don't want to work. 

Fact: Of Delaware's "extremely low income" renter households, 35 percent have jobs, 24 percent are seniors, 15 percent are disabled, seven percent are in school and three percent are single caregivers. 

Twenty-five percent of all renters in Delaware are "extremely low income" renters. That means those individuals and families earn 30 percent or less of the area median income. 

"These cost-burdened renters are left to choose between basic life necessities such as transportation, clothing, medical care or paying rent," Housing Alliance said. "One unexpected hardship can result in the loss of a stable home." 

Seniors are a growing demographic among Delaware's homeless population. According to Housing Alliance's January "point in time" count of the homeless, the number of people 62 and older experiencing homelessness increased by 40 percent from 2015 to 2018. 

During the 2018 PIT count, 20 percent of adults reported having a diagnosed mental illness. Forty percent reported being diagnosed with a disabling condition, including physical impairment, cognitive disabilities and/or addiction. 

Myth: There are plenty of shelters and beds to accommodate everyone who wants shelter in Delaware. 

Fact: There are not enough shelter beds in Delaware to meet demand, according to Housing Alliance.

New Castle County has 270, Kent County has 91 and Sussex County has 28, Housing Alliance said. That's a total of 328 beds in the state, not counting agencies that don't get federal funding.

Shelter demand from Dec. 2 through Dec. 7 of this year was greater than the number of beds. Housing Alliance received 171 email requests and 529 calls throughout the state in that time. When you consider that some calls are from families with multiple members, the call numbers don't reflect the number of people in need. 

Limiting one's options are various restrictions shelters may have pertaining to age, gender and gender identity, family makeup, sobriety, criminal history and other characteristics.

Myth: If you don’t see homelessness, it’s not a problem.

Fact: An estimated 3,500 Delawareans will experience homelessness at some point during the year, according to Housing Alliance.

The number of people experiencing homelessness in Delaware, according to Housing Alliance's "point in time" count every January, has risen in recent years. 

2015: 950 people 

2016: 1070 people 

2017: 1015 people 

2018: 1082 people 

According to Housing Alliance, many homeless people are living in abandoned buildings, sheds, storage units, tents in the woods, cars or elsewhere.

If you have a story about homelessness or housing insecurity in Delaware, contact Christina Jedra at cjedra@delawareonline.com, (302) 324-2837 or on Twitter @ChristinaJedra.

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