Clearing hurdles to solve affordable housing conundrum

May 8—Those confronting the shortage of affordable housing in Haywood have gelled into an informal coalition, one that's proved solutions aren't so elusive when they're found collectively.

Beth Kahl, director of the Waynesville Housing Authority, has created room on her governing board for representatives from Haywood Habitat for Humanity, Haywood Pathways Center and Mountain Projects.

Those four organizations are the heavy hitters in Haywood when it comes to helping people move from homelessness to subsidized housing to home ownership.

"I look at it as a stepladder instead of a circle," Kahl said. "We're all trying to help people over the hurdles for the next step."

Kahl and the Waynesville Housing Authority's role is in the middle. The organization has 162 subsidized housing units available. Of those, 62 are at The Towers, a high-rise apartment building for elderly and those with disabilities; another 40 units consist of efficiency and one-bedroom apartments also geared toward the elderly; and 60 units can accommodate families.

The waiting list for the units is between six months and two years, depending on the type of housing needed, but John Bryson, the WHA assistant director, cautions people to not get discouraged.

"Honestly, some people on the wait list might have found something else and didn't notify us," he said. "When a person applies, there are a lot of demographics that go into where they fall."

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development sets the rules for how WHA can operate, Bryson said. The program is income-based, units aren't allowed to be held, and there are strict rules on the required deposit amount and eligibility.

Kahl said the board has looked into the possibility of expanding the number of housing units available under its charter, one that dates back to the early 1960s. That's not possible, however, because the newest trend in federal housing programs is toward providing vouchers rather than building public housing.

Still, WHA is exploring options for providing additional low-income housing on property it already owns.

"We're looking at ways we can expand and accept vouchers," Kahl said.

The first step

The bottom rung of the step ladder the affordable housing coalition is helping individuals move up from homelessness.

Haywood Pathways Center provides shelter for up to 32 men, 20 women and eight families. Some are elderly or have disability income, while the others are working to save enough money for a deposit, first and last month's rent and a utility deposit so they are able to move out.

Mandy Haithcox, who has been the director of Haywood Pathways Center for the past seven years, said finding housing for graduating clients has become a bit easier over the years.

One reason is the Healthy Opportunities Program (HOP), a Medicaid experimental program in North Carolina that considers social determinants of health. Affordable housing is one of the determinants. Funds have become available to cover the move-in costs such as rent and utility deposits, and those who qualify can get weekly food boxes, along with other assistance.

When addressing the affordable housing issue, Haithcox said a lot comes down to the definition of "affordable."

"My definition is very different from what it is supposed to be, which is 30% of a household income goes to rent and utilities," she said. "That is a challenge for so many on a fixed income of say, $900 a month."

That would mean finding an apartment for $300, which is impossible in Haywood.

"Unless they have a voucher from Mountain Projects or access to a different housing program, that definition doesn't work," she said.

The Pathways Center is a first stop for those leaving jail or who have made the decision to seek something better than life on the streets.

The program was started a decade ago to provide housing for up to six months as individuals worked and saved enough money for a place of their own.

The model has evolved, Haithcox said, and many of the center's residents are elderly or those on fixed incomes who have lost their housing after it is turned into a vacation rental or sold.

With the housing shortage, individuals are staying longer at Pathways as the care coordination team seeks a suitable rental. The high cost of renting in Haywood makes that tough. Most one-bedroom places start between $800-$1,000 a month, and it goes up from there.

"We just had a family move out, and their two-bedroom rental was almost $2,000 a month," Haithcox said. "They had a Mountain Projects voucher, and their portion was $450. Another family moved into 3-bedroom for $1,600 a month, but they had a Mountain Projects voucher, too."

The housing situation has become so tight that Haithcox said some families are looking at finding a camper and a rental place to put it.

Even with the subsidies available to those who qualify, it sometimes costs $4,000 to $5,000 to move into a new place once all the deposits are added up.

Thankfully, that's something available through the Healthy Opportunities program, but it's an expense the Pathways Center has to front and then wait for reimbursement.

It can cause a cash flow crunch, Haithcox said, but that's what's needed to open up a spot for the next person.

At any given time, between 75 and 80 individuals live at the Pathways center, counting the multiple family members. Haithcox said about half of the current residents are poised to move out if they could find a rental where subsidies are acceptable.

"There's a bottleneck for sure," Haithcox said. "People are staying longer than they used to."

Vouchers make a difference

Mountain Projects is the local agency that handles the Section 8 housing program in Haywood — a federal effort to help provide housing for the low-income.

Brooke Smith, the agency's assistant director, said she's seen rays of hope that the rental situation is improving.

For instance, more landlords are allowing renters to use the Section 8 housing vouchers that can help make rents more affordable.

To help ensure housing costs don't exceed 30% of income, a standard definition of affordable housing, once an individual finds a rental, the voucher can help make up the difference between the 30% mark and the rental value — as long as it is within the allowed price range.

Haywood is allotted 1,108 vouchers, Smith said, but as a rule, there are only 900 used each month because the remaining voucher holders can't find a suitable rental.

"We're paying over $500,000 a month in rent to local landlords," Smith said. "It is a huge economic impact."

Getting a higher allotment for vouchers wouldn't help ease the situation since there aren't enough rental units to lease at the current number, she added.

During the Covid years, the number of available rentals began dropping as landlords gravitated toward short-term rentals or sold the units, Smith said, but now the available rentals are ticking back up.

Part of the reasons is a change to allow for higher allowable rents.

"We are working with HUD to increase rent standards, and several landlords returned. Everybody knows they will be paid on time every month," Smith said.

Another reason are the new lower-income housing opportunities that have opened up.

For instance, Brookmont Loft, which is now in the county's old hospital, was converted into 54 units, and Mountain Creek Apartments, located at the former Bi-Lo shopping center, accepts vouchers in 20 units.

"I feel like we're making small but important progress," Smith said. "We're seeing greater success in lease-ups (where people are staying in the rental they have and the landlord is allowing them to use a voucher) and we have a lot of partners working together."

Building a home

Ryan Newell, executive director of Haywood Habitat for Humanity, said the nonprofit partners focused on creating more affordable housing in the county are making progress.

That's not to say there still isn't a lot of heavy lifting ahead. Habitat's role is to help make home ownership possible through the use of volunteers to help future homeowners build their homes.

"We have wonderful group core of volunteers and are always welcoming more," he said.

With rising construction costs, Newell said the organization is having to make a larger financial contribution to keep the home affordable. Once a home is finished, the new owner begins making the mortgage payment, and those proceeds are plowed back into the program to build the next home. The gap is growing, so Newell is working to expand a cash fund as a way to fill it.

A federal $10 million flood recovery grant is reviewing applications, and Newell said Habitat could fund an additional six homes if its application is approved.

Beyond that, Newell said he's familiar with other communities that have inclusionary zoning where large, for-profit developers are required to provide a certain percentage of units that would fall into the affordable range.

Those objecting would have an opportunity to buy their way out of the requirement, something that would create cash for the nonprofits that focus on the task.

"One of the many gaps right now is transitional housing," he explained. "Once clients from Haywood Pathways graduate, they need a place to stay as they save up enough money to qualify for programs such as ours."

Ideally those units would be small, single-family homes or multi-family housing that could be income-based, he said.

"It takes all to successfully pull off what we're trying to pull off," he said.