Another church has written to City Council about the human need stemming from the city’s lack of affordable housing.
Last week the Gazette Packet reported that 11 local churches and faith-based nonprofits gave away over $1 million in emergency financial assistance to Alexandria residents in 2016. “Almost all of the assistance was provided for rent, utilities, and medical needs with the majority going towards rent,” said Melanie Gray, their convener, in a letter to City Council.
For some rough perspective, “$1,062,885 is the amount of rent relief and financial stabilization services (security deposits and needs related to housing stability) provided to 3,120 Alexandrians in FY16 through the Office of Community Services,” said Jennifer Cohen-Cordero in an email. She is the communication manager for the city’s Department of Community & Human Services. “[Q]uantifying this is quite complex. In the City [government], there are a number of other programs that spend money on keeping our residents housed. For example, there are multiple programs dedicated to utility assistance in Public Benefits. Money used to support families in staying housed is used in Child Welfare, permanent supportive housing programs are in Adult Behavioral Health, to name some examples. The number I have given … is only OCS.”
Nine churches and 19 nonprofits, both faith-based and secular, have written or signed letters about affordable housing to City Council since the end of January. The latest, from the Rev. Dr. Scott Maurer of West City Fellowship, does not specify the same political objectives. But its observations — that “families” and “hard working people” are burdened — resonate with previous letters.
Maurer wrote: “One of the most pressing social issues the city has identified is a lack of affordable housing. As a church, we have seen how this problem affects many of our parishioners. Among the problems we see are:
“* Inflexible landlords who are often quite merciless with late fees, even when their tenants (our parishioners) have demonstrated a pattern of paying their rent;
“* Unreasonably high credit requirements and rental deposits that make it virtually impossible for families that have faced challenging circumstances to get back on their feet;
“* Rental prices that leave hard working people with no options other than to apply for subsidized housing, which is virtually unavailable and which most people would prefer to avoid.
“This is a complicated problem and we are in no position to demand that you pursue specific policies. Nevertheless, we ask you to consider several ways that you can make a positive impact:
“* Help churches thrive in their service to the city. The easier it is for churches to exist and minister to people in the city, the fewer resources the city will have to find to meet increasing social needs. Our church alone has given more than $12,000 over three years to help people needing financial help, in addition to several other free services we offer to the community.
“* Use your influence to encourage landlords to be merciful and generous. Many churches would be happy to publicly acknowledge landlords who demonstrate such ethical character.”