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This academic article, “Homelessness In Rural Places: Perspectives From Upstate New York” by Janet M. Fitchen, argues that rural homelessness is a significant yet overlooked issue, largely because it doesn’t fit urban-centric definitions and perceptions. The article highlights that rural homelessness is tied to increasing rural poverty, exacerbated by deteriorating employment, a rise in single-parent families, and a shrinking supply of affordable housing. Key points from the article include:
- Defining Rural Homelessness: Unlike urban homelessness, which is often characterized by people sleeping on the streets or in large shelters, rural homelessness is frequently “hidden.” It manifests as elevated residential mobility, frequent “doubling up” with relatives or friends, and living in substandard or temporary housing like cars, sheds, or dilapidated farmhouses.
- Causes of Rural Homelessness:
- Worsening Rural Poverty: Rural poverty rates are consistently higher than urban rates, and the rural economy’s poor performance in the 1980s led to a rise in underemployment and low-wage jobs lacking benefits.
- Increase in Single-Parent Families: This nationwide trend has significantly increased poverty risk in rural areas, especially for single mothers who often remain poor for longer due to lower wage levels.
- Loss of Inexpensive Housing: Development, rural gentrification (where old homes are renovated or razed for higher-priced housing), and inadequate public investment have diminished the stock of low-cost rental housing. This is compounded by an influx of low-income people from cities seeking cheaper housing, driving up rural rents.
- Curtailment of Informal Housing Strategies: Traditional methods of coping with housing costs, such as owning a modest dwelling or using makeshift additions, are now hindered by rising land prices, property taxes, and stricter land-use regulations and building codes.
- Weakening of Family Ties: While doubling up with relatives remains a primary defense against literal homelessness, this strategy is becoming more difficult as relatives may themselves be struggling or be too far away.
- Patterns in Rural New York: Field research in sixteen rural New York counties reveals high levels of residential mobility, with families frequently moving between rented apartments, trailers, and relatives’ homes. These moves are often triggered by structural problems in housing, inability to afford rent increases, or family conflicts. Many “near-homeless” individuals are never counted as homeless because they are not in shelters or visibly living on the streets.
- Recommendations: The article advocates for a multi-pronged approach:
- Emergency Responses: Funding for more small-scale, scattered-site shelters; financial assistance for start-up costs of moving (security deposits, first month’s rent); proactive case management for “near-homeless” individuals; and support for informal helpers (relatives temporarily housing others).
- Long-Term Responses: Housing initiatives to increase supply, affordability, quality, and distribution of low-cost housing (e.g., improved loan/grant programs for homeownership, expanded rental subsidies, small-scale public housing, rehabilitation grants). It also suggests monitoring the impact of economic development on housing stock, restricting free-market effects that raise costs, increasing housing inspections, and cushioning the effect of second homes on housing prices.
- Policy Modifications: Examining state building codes and local land-use regulations that restrict affordable housing options; ensuring rent subsidies are mobile and not tied to a specific county; and modifying Department of Social Services rules that exacerbate housing problems (e.g., bedroom regulations, liens on homes).
- Attacking Underlying Poverty: Ultimately, addressing rural poverty through improved employment (job creation, better wages/benefits, training programs) is crucial. Supporting single-parent families and assisting communities receiving low-income migrants are also important.
The article emphasizes that rural homelessness is different from urban homelessness and requires tailored solutions that leverage rural strengths and address the unique challenges of the rural context.
