By Aaron Allen
The Seattle Medium
With homelessness on the rise, access to affordable housing is a major issue for advocates and policymakers in many U.S. cities including Seattle.
Many programs that provide financial security for low-income families and economic development for their communities are funded based in whole or in part on data derived from the U.S. Census.
Housing programs like the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program — which aids households with low-incomes in obtaining decent, safe, and sanitary rental housing – is an example of a program that is funded based on statistics from the census. More than 1,900 households with low incomes use the voucher program to afford housing in the Seattle area.
Low income housing falls under both State and Federal assistance programs which means population accountability is necessary for the government to adequately disperse funds to those programs. If your community is not accurately counted via the census the amounts of funding can fall short of what is needed to aid in the survival of communities particularly communities that are comprised of underrepresented populations.
Michelle Merriweather, President and CEO of the Urban League Metropolitan Seattle believes it is critical for communities of color to understand the relationship between the census, funding and public housing when it comes to access for affordable housing.
“Funding for Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers and the Assistance Payment Programs are allocated based on the census,” says Merriweather. “We still have an urgent need for affordable housing with data showing 4 in 10 low income people are experiencing homelessness or pay over half of their income in rent.”
Unfortunately, the lack of participation in the census by low-income and minority communities has historically led to population undercounts in these communities that have negatively impacted affordable housing efforts throughout the country.
A report by Georgetown Law’s Center on Poverty and Inequality suggest that hard-to-count groups are once again at risk of being undercounted in the 2020 Census.
“Unfortunately, certain population groups – referred to as “hard-to-count” – are at a higher risk of not being fully counted in the census,” says the study.
“Households with low incomes are at risk of being undercounted,” the study continues. “People with low incomes have been undercounted in past censuses, disadvantaging their families, communities, and neighborhoods. More than 29 million people in or near poverty (below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level) live in hard-to-count census tracts, making up almost 50 percent of the U.S. population that lives in hard-to-count communities.”
When renters and transitory occupants are undercounted, districts and data may not accurately represent reality. Undercounting results in renters and their communities being denied a full voice in policy-making decisions. As a result, community’s run the risk of not being represented or prioritized according to their true share of the population.
Merriweather believes that we will see a shift towards more affordable housing options if we can get an accurate census count.
“When we completely count our community, there could be a growth in affordable housing and assistance with housing,” says Merriweather. “That is why it is imperative for all to complete the census and make sure that they are counted.”
All across the country advocates are encouraging everyone, including those who live in hard-to-count communities, to participate in the 2020 Census, so that their communities can have access to their fair share of resources that will help improve access to affordable housing options and funding for the next 10 years.
