Local, State Governments & Private Sector Must Act Now to Keep Homelessness from Worsening in Idaho

Two years ago, the pandemic led the federal government to provide much-needed funding to address our housing crisis. The investments in rental assistance resources to prevent eviction and re-house homeless families was the largest ever. Local housing organizations felt an ability to meet a portion of the community's need for housing assistance for the very first time. At the same time, the community stepped up to donate to local organizations, which saw unprecedented support for their missions.

During this time, the housing crisis worsened. Idaho saw one of the biggest rent increases in the United States: over 40%. As a result, half of Idaho renters are now paying much of their income towards rent and living paycheck to paycheck. Any unanticipated expense or shortfall can easily lead to an eviction and even homelessness. What would you do if you had to choose between getting needed healthcare for your child and paying your rent? These are the kinds of choices Idaho’s renting families are having to make every day.

Even with unprecedented federal and community support, evictions in Idaho have increased this year. For example, while there were 872 eviction hearings in the Treasure Valley in 2021, this year we are on track for 1,200 evictions. Demand at local housing agencies has increased by 400%. Our community has also seen an increase in the number of people entering our shelters, living in their cars, hotels, RVs, or couch-surfing. Housing nonprofits are having to make hard decisions about who they can serve - or must turn away - each day.

There is a common misconception that tenants can simply pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Most of the people we hear from have been making it work for years, but have simply been dealt a difficult hand. A rent increase, job loss, health care issue, child care complication, divorce, domestic violence incident, car trouble, familial issues, or a combination of these has led them to a place where they can’t pay their rent. A common denominator with all of our clients is that they do not have family or friends who are able to loan them funds in an emergency. No amount of hard work can lift someone through situations like these without a community safety net.

The need for housing resources has increased even with federal investments in place, and soon, those funds are expiring. The federal government has indicated that they will not step up with additional support, and many of us are anxious to see what the need looks like when that safety net is gone. As pandemic funds have been depleted in other cities, evictions are already soaring.

Idaho could soon be in a similar situation, and it now falls to the private sector and local governments to keep homelessness from worsening in Idaho. Although housing nonprofits have been working hard to replace government funds, the scale of the housing crisis is huge. It will take all of us to replace those resources and sustain the programming that nonprofits have built.

Until there is enough affordable housing in our community and half of our community’s renters are not living on the line, we must all step up to aid renters in crisis. Nonprofits will be depending on the private sector and local governments to step up to help. If you’re a community member, now is a great time to give during Idaho’s housing nonprofits’ annual giving campaign, Avenues for Hope (avenuesforhope.org).