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11 October 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Lily Wu and Brandon Whipple will be at the Advanced Learning Library tonight at 5:45 p.m. to discuss affordable housing. The forum will also be streamed live on KSN.com.
Danielle Johnson is the executive director of Habitat for Humanity and says the affordable housing crisis is felt across the country and in Wichita.
“We really hope that our candidates address what the city’s plan is for affordable housing,” Johnson said. “We have an incredible city housing department, but they do need support. So making sure that the community knows what the partnerships look like. I’m leaning into our nonprofit organizations that are very much in the affordable housing field. I’m looking to hear what they believe affordable housing is.”
She and Dawn Ebb, the executive director of Family Promise of Wichita, say there’s not enough affordable housing in Wichita. People should be spending 30% of their income on affordable housing, but Ebb says she sees people spending half their income on housing.
Johnson says even when families get into homes, sometimes the living circumstance is challenging. She sees large families living in a 1-2 bedroom apartment.
“While we do have a multitude of great landlords, there are some that are not that great,” Johnson said. “A lot of our families are paying their rent on time. Things aren’t getting fixed. Eleven folks living in a one-bedroom apartment is a really hard thing to do.”
Johnson says there is also a workforce need as employers come to the area.
She says that right now, wages can’t keep up with housing cost increases.
“We’re just seeing those market rates go really high for our families,” Johnson said. “You’re seeing those one-bedroom, two-bedroom apartments going anywhere from $700+. When we think about just livable wages, wages aren’t necessarily increasing at the rate of which the needs are for an affordable mortgage or affordable rent.”
Epp says they see families struggling right now, and many of them are single-income homes. She says typically someone needs to make at least $16/hour to rent a 2-bedroom home. She also sees people having to pick what bills to pay.
Epp hopes to see more subsidized housing so families can get on their feet. And, she wants momentum to continue among organizations and policymakers in working together as a team.
Housing insecurity can have long-lasting effects.
“Without housing, that creates trauma,” Epp said. “And so even the risk of losing your housing is creating trauma for, of course, the adult in the home that has the weight of that pressure on their shoulders, but also the kids are feeling that trauma. And so trauma affects the brain, and that affects a lot of things down the road.”