Pavliga's housing summit starts conversation on safe, affordable housing in county

Portage County’s lack of safe and affordable housing comes down to dollars and decisions, said attendees of a Jan. 22 housing summit hosted by State Rep. Gail Pavliga alongside representatives from over a dozen local social service agencies.

A representative from Habitat for Humanity said the agency now spends $160,000 per housing project, up from less than $100,000 in recent years.

Those kinds of costs, and skyrocketing rent, keep even families pulling in moderate incomes out of housing, people from multiple agencies said.

When one door closes, another does not necessarily open. Bill Russell, a chief officer with Coleman Health Services, said more landlords need to be willing to work with social service agencies, and that funds are needed to safely house people with criminal records, people with mental health challenges and families.

Though an increasing number of landlords are willing to work with local social service agencies, they frequently demand double security deposits, first and last months’ rent, a water deposit and other upfront costs. That puts agencies that navigate housing options in a bind: with limited funds and multiple clients, they are faced with helping fewer people, Russell said.

Portage County Probate Court Patricia Smith said under these conditions, “affordable housing just becomes unaffordable.”

Erin Lemmon, a case manager with Coleman Health Services, produces monthly statistics for the agency’s downtown Ravenna outreach program.

In December, she identified five people who were newly homeless, adding those numbers to 39 adults and three children already listed as clients. Of those 47 people, six adults and three children had obtained housing. Others were staying with friends or family or were residing at The Haven of Portage County or Miller Community House, a short-term shelter in Kent.

One adult was on the streets, one was in a motel, and some were serving time in the Portage County jail or in prison.

It’s an uphill battle. Lemmon’s report notes that the county has limited resources for hotel and motel stays and almost nowhere for people to bathe or get their laundry done. Certain types of criminal backgrounds render some people ineligible for shelters; others are banned for not following shelter rules.

They end up on the streets, often in need of camping supplies, such as tents and sleeping bags, Lemmon’s report notes.

As cold weather approaches, some people intentionally commit misdemeanors, community activist Frank Hairston said. With luck, a misdemeanor conviction will result in a six-month stay in the Portage County jail and, if timed right, will get a person fed and in a warm bed through the winter, he said.

“We’re using the jail as housing,” Pavliga agreed.

Getting people the help they need without going through the legal system is a problem. Russell pointed to the lack of affordable and safe housing for people with complex criminal justice histories.

And untreated or improperly treated people who are struggling with mental health issues are also frequently excluded from public housing programs, Smith added.

Diane Clark, executive director of the Portage County Guardianship Service Board, likened people experiencing some types of chronic mental health challenges to those suffering from dementia. Both types of people need round-the-clock care, but society — and skilled nursing care facilities — only want to recognize and treat the dementia patients, she said.

Is there an answer?

Comprehensive care facilities for people with mental illness would be a start, Clark said. Tax breaks, more funding and programs for low-to-moderate income families would help, attendees agreed. More HUD and Habitat housing and funding would be great, as well as less bureaucratic red tape and government regulations.

Mental health is not a choice people make. And it changes over time, meaning people’s needs change, Clark said. Since single-campus facilities already exist to offer a continuum of care for elderly people (even those with dementia or Alzheimer’s), that concept could be extended to caring for people with mental illness, she suggested.

Attendees agreed: let’s lose the regulations that hamper, if not outright block, long-term community care.

Pavliga pledged to work with her staff to find policy and funding options. When she’s got them, she said she would call the county’s leaders back for a second housing summit, likely in a few months.