Spartan Alert

Center for Housing and Community Studies

Evictions are a complex issue impacting the entire community

Posted on August 31, 2017

10 of 13 (77%) interviewees experienced homelessness immediately following the eviction

Evictions are a complex issue. In our recent analysis of summary ejectment court proceedings, we found that 99% of cases involve non-payment of rent (based on landlord filing). While other municipalities have begun to consider “right to counsel” ordinances in eviction cases (see righttocounselnyc.org), tenants in Greensboro seldom appear in court (1 out of 4 cases) and lack legal representation when they do appear.

We are currently conducting interviews with individuals who were evicted. Here’s some of what we are hearing:

Evictions being used as a collections tool – “Every Time I’m late, which is almost every month, they file the eviction papers and I get charged the late fee and the court fee. That’s an extra $200 a month. Ever since my husband had lost his main job, and I been waiting on disability; we get filed on every month.”
Evictions being used to move out old tenants and make way for higher rent – “About 3 years ago my landlord at the time, after 18 years, sold the property I’m renting. They went up on the rent and I’ve just had a hard time paying it with all the other bills.”
Poor property maintenance leading to inability to pay full rent ”we asked the landlord to start making repairs to the bathroom. She refused to repair. Because we were doing some repairs here and there ourselves, and because the bills were sky high because of the lack of energy efficiency of the structure, we started making partial payments. She evicted us because we wouldn’t pay the full rent when she refused to make the property livable.”

The key finding we have made so far is that 10 of 13 (77%) interviewees experienced homelessness immediately following the eviction!

“I was homeless for a week, lived in my SUV. After that, my mother didn’t want me living like that so I moved to Virginia with family for about a year. It caused problems and separated me from my fiancée for a long time.”
“I lived in a tent in the woods with my dogs for about two months before a woman gave me some money to get a hotel for awhile. When the money ran out I was back and forth in between the woods and living in a hotel whenever I had the money.”

With over 16,000 eviction filings last year in Guilford County, we can see this is impact the entire community – there is a cost (personal, social, and economic) to landlords, schools, health care systems, law enforcement, employers, relief agencies, neighborhoods, and families. There is real need in our community to look further into solutions rather than to displace families.

Read more of our preliminary report at http://tinyurl.com/EvictionsGSO

Vacant Properties

Posted on July 27, 2017

In this brief report we have provided several methods for ascertaining the number of vacant parcels and buildings in Greensboro. First, we conducted remote visual inspections of parcels in Greensboro in 2016. Inspectors coded properties without a building as 0, no; 1, yes; 99999, Missing. We found that 11.45% (n=8123) properties inspected had no structure. (See Figure 1 Visual Inspection 2016 – No Building on Property).

Next, we look at Guilford County Tax Records to see if there have been any taxed improvements on the land. Wherever the improvement value of the land is $0 and the land has value (>$0), we coded the property as unimproved, or having no buildings or other structures. About 19.5% (n=8859) of parcels had no improvement. (Figure 2 – No Improvements on Land – Guilford County Tax Record 2016).

We estimate then between 8,123 to 8,859 vacant parcels. Maps for both of these methods follow. Clear overlaps can be seen visibly between the two. Links to high resolution maps are provided and allow for close inspection. Additional analysis could be used to identify contiguous parcels.

Additional information is available in this data brief: Vacant housing and Vacant Land

National Alliance to End Homelessness – Annual Meeting

Posted on July 26, 2017

From July 17th to July 19th our office manager/research assistant, Phillip Sheldon, had the opportunity to participate in National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) Annual Meeting in Washington, DC (Here is the conference program). This nation-wide gathering involved professionals from various fields – including social workers, Continuum of Care leaders, and government officials – united in the desire to end homelessness in America.

Session topics ranged from “Rural Homelessness” to “Lessons Learned from Re-Housing After Disasters.” One session, “Addressing the Opioid Crisis for People Who Experience Homelessness,” was especially informative. Three panelists from around the country talked about the data behind our current opioid crisis and best practices in working with homeless individuals who suffer from opioid dependency.

Two plenary speakers set the tone for the conference: HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson and Rep. Maxine Waters. Secretary Carson opened his speech with a “tale of two sunsets in America” – one sunset that calls the housed home and the other sunset that precedes a night of uncertainty and danger for the homeless of America. Voicing his support for the housing first model, Sect. Carson’s speech reached its crescendo when he stated “A man will not beat addiction from a gutter, he will not get psychiatric help underneath a bridge, and he will not find a steady job without a steady address.” (Here is summary of the Secretary’s speech from PBS)

Rep. Maxine Waters closed the conference with a rousing speech on the necessity of affordable housing for addressing the plight of America’s homeless. In the first half of her speech Rep. Waters congratulated those in attendance for the progress they have made toward ending homelessness in America. In the latter half of her speech Rep. Waters admonished the proposed cuts to HUD by the current administration, stating that such cuts will stymie the progress that has been made over the last decade. Rep. Waters was sure to let us know that such federal (in)action cannot halt progress we our communities toward ending homelessness.

Many thanks to the National Alliance to End Homelessness for putting on such an inspiring and thought-provoking conference!

To stay informed on the topic of homelessness in American follow NAEH on Facebook.

Nature of Evictions in Greensboro: An Analysis of Summary Ejectment Filings for May 2016

Posted on July 26, 2017

In our review of one month of court records we found that a few plaintiffs accounted for a large share of the complaints. These same plaintiffs have a number of tenant grievances and criticisms against them for poor housing quality and bad management. We also fo und that evictions, while found throughout the City, were concentrated disproportionately within a few specific communities in the South and Southeast. Nearly all cases (98.7%) were from non-payment of rent. Notably the defendant was not present in court in three-quarters of cases and the plaintiff almost always either won the case based on evidence and received compensation or received a judgment for possession as requested (99.0% of judgements and orders). The total amount due (overdue rent and damages) in these judgements was an average of $998.52 (mean) or $750.00 (median).

Read the entire report here: Evictions DRAFT 7-25-2017

CHCS Quality of Life Explorer

Posted on July 20, 2017

Still in beta, and many edits to make, but UNCG Center for Housing and Community Studies is working on a public data mapping tool (based on the Charlotte Quality of Life Explorer – Created by Mecklenburg County, the City of Charlotte, and UNCC with Source code on Github).

This tool will display community indicators in a user-friendly and intuitive manner. We will soon offer the service of adapting the tool for interested communities wishing to share important information with their residents.

Check out the preliminary test page for High Point, NC at https://lnkd.in/dMyNZXh.

Youth Homelessness in Guilford County

Posted on July 12, 2017

On Friday, July 7th we had the opportunity to hear about the issues facing Guilford County’s most important residents: its young people. Guiding us through this topic were: Brian Hahne, executive director of Partners Ending Homelessness; Guilford County Schools’ homelessness liaison, Yatisha Blythe; and Michelle Kennedy, executive director of the Interactive Resource Center. Yatisha Blythe gave us some statistics from Guilford County Schools. For the 2015-2016 school year Guilford County Schools had nearly 2,750 students complete a form that states that they are going through a housing crisis of some sort. The vast majority (84%) said that they were living with a relative because they lost housing – with 287 of those children in Kindergarten. Another 201 children (7%) were living in inadequate housing: motels, hotels, and campgrounds being the place the child and their family sleeps. Of Guilford County School’s 2,750 “students in transition” 141 (5%) of them have lived in an emergency shelters, transitional housing shelter, or a domestic violence shelter during the school year. For a variety of reasons 65 (2%) students ran away from their home and are living with another individual.

One child going without a house is one child too much. Both Brian Hahne and Michelle Kennedy told some of the stories of the homeless youth they have worked with: one, an LGBTQ+ teenager who ran away from an abusive home situation; or a child who was traveled miles to Greensboro to end up at the front door of the Interactive Resource Center to seek assistance with mental health issues. These are stories unfolding daily right here in Guilford County. Many thanks to Brian Hahne, Yatisha Blythe, and Michelle Kennedy for informing us on these issues and for making this Housing Hangout one of the best yet! It is now up to the Guilford County community to end homelessness among our youngest residents. Please come to our next Housing Hangout on “Housing and Health!”

Strategic Prevention Framework – Partnership for Success Grantee Training

Posted on July 03, 2017

Dr. Sills presenting a case study of the impact of the rural opioid epidemic.

UNCG Center for Housing and Community Studies recently hosted a two-day training (see Training Program here) on how to use data to inform local coalitions regarding behavioral health disparities in the prevention of opiate prescription misuse. This came as part of our technical assistance to 13 rural counties in NC struggling with the opioid epidemic.

Dr. Villalba talking about behavioral health disparities in Latino communities.

The goal of the training was to provide a set of information gathering and prevention strategy development tools that participants could take back and use in their communities to reduce disparities in prescription medication misuse and its consequences.

Participants developed an explanatory narrative about the issues of prescription misuse in their community – one that identifies likely causal factors for its increase, conditions that contribute to its sustainability, and the population groups most vulnerable to engaging in drug misuse.

Ms. Rachel Ryding moderating a panel on How Prevention Fits Into The Continuum Of Care in Rural Communities.

The training also introduce participants to examining relationships among factors as increasing or decreasing the likelihood of prescription drug misuse, and as means of representing where the misuse is occurring (via Geographical Information System mapping).

Community Profiles and Resource Packets

Healthy High Point

Posted on June 15, 2017

This series of infographics and maps details current data on health and community issues in High Point, NC.

15 Key Indicators for a Healthy High Point

Posted on June 15, 2017

This infographic from the Foundation for a Healthy High Point, the Center for Housing and Community Studies, and the Center for Youth, Family, and Community Partnerships discusses 15 key indicators of health.

Crunching data and mending neighborhoods

Posted on June 15, 2017

Verna Torain has lived in east Greensboro’s Cottage Grove neighborhood for more than 25 years.

When she first moved to the community, many residents worked in nearby factories. “Now everything’s closed down,” says the volunteer and community activist. “There’s no jobs.”

The economic toll has left its mark on Cottage Grove. Houses and apartments have fallen into disrepair. And it’s not just buildings suffering.

Job loss and substandard housing are two factors contributing to a host of other issues, including health problems.

The connections among housing, sickness and related problems are the primary focus of Dr. Stephen Sills’ Center for Housing and Community Studies (CHCS) at UNCG.

Sills, an associate professor of sociology, is using statistical analysis and software to better understand these issues. He works closely with residents, plus nonprofit organizations, government agencies, foundations and health care providers, to design, test and implement solutions.

“I’m working on health one day; I’m working on educational outcomes on another,” he says. “I’m working on mortgage markets and fair housing. It looks like I’m all over the place, but what I’m doing is taking problems that come to me and applying the best research tool I have.”

Sills taps other faculty – such as Dr. Keith Debbage, who holds a joint appointment in the Department of Geography and the Bryan School of Business and Economics, and Dr. Ken Gruber at the UNCG Center for Youth, Family and Community Partnerships – to bring additional expertise to center projects.

With the support of a highly competitive Invest Health grant, Sills and his partners – both on campus and in the community – are currently examining the relationship between substandard housing and pediatric asthma in Greensboro.

More at: http://ure.uncg.edu/prod/cweekly/2017/06/13/crunching-date-mending-neighborhoods/