LAKELAND, Fla. — Housing vouchers are necessary for many low-income renters, but the number of available vouchers has failed to keep up with demand. This leaves many low-income residents, especially in Lakeland, without a place to live.
Barbara Reynolds has lived at Talbot House Ministries women's shelter in Lakeland since January.
"This is my first experience in a shelter. Very unnerving for me," said Reynolds.
Reynolds recently experienced health complications and is on a fixed income. As a result, finding a place to live that she can afford has been challenging.
"People that's on fixed incomes can't afford the high rent. So, they end up with family on the streets struggling, and it's hard," Reynolds said.
According to a new study by Zillow, the Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area is ranked the fourth highest for severely rent-burdened households in the country. Those households spend more than half of their income on monthly rent.
Housing Choice Vouchers, or Section 8 vouchers, pay rent subsidies for many low-income families. According to the report, unfortunately, there are eight times as many households as available vouchers. With rent increasing faster than income, the risk of eviction and homelessness also increases.
"If people in this area aren't able to get housing vouchers, a lot of the time, they end up homeless. Whether that's practically homeless and staying in a shelter like Talbot House or couch surfing, staying with friends," said Erin Martinez, director of development for Talbot House Ministries.
Talbot House feels the impact of this limited supply of housing vouchers daily.
"Talbot House is over capacity right now. We're averaging about 120% occupancy on any given night. Which means we have people staying on air mattresses or cots temporarily because we're out of beds," Martinez said.
Martinez said to begin tackling the rise in homelessness; there needs to be more funding for the housing choice voucher program. In the meantime, Talbot House has assisted Reynolds in securing affordable housing, which is currently being built.
"They are going to take care of my first month's everything, so I can get back on my feet," Reynolds said.
Building more affordable housing to address housing shortages is a longer-term solution.
