Stable Homes to end Housing Insecurity

Our project is in response to the growing number of individuals and small families in the Ames, Iowa, area who lack safe, stable housing. These individuals and families often find themselves homeless due to a combination of factors that cause landlords to reject them as tenants, even when their security deposits, utilities and rents are being subsidized by a variety of federal, state and local government programs.

For example: 

HUD says the 2022 fair market rent including utilities for a studio or one-bedroom apartment in Ames is $787 per month. The fair market rent is high for the predominantly rural state of Iowa due to Ames being home to  a major university. Of Ames' 69,000 residents, an estimated 25,000 are Iowa State University students and at least 5,500 of the university's 11,000 employees call Ames home.

Ames also is home to a regional medical center and the service centers of several regional human service agencies. As a result, Ames has more income-restricted residents vying for the limited stock of financially sustainable small rental units. Examples of residents struggling to obtain housing due to low incomes are:

• 2022 Social Security Insurance income for an adult with a disability such as a chronic mental illness and a limited work history is a maximum of $841 per month.
• Approximately 25% of homeless people contacting our lead homeless shelter and temporary housing support agency are working at least part-time, but cannot find an apartment or stable living arrangement their income will cover and still leave money for food, transportation, toiletries, etc . 
• Teenage girls ages 15 to 19 gave birth to 14 of every 1,000 babies born in Iowa in 2019. Assuming she and the child had an income less than $480 per month, she likely received a Family Investment Program (FIP) cash payment in May, 2022, of $260, for a combined maximum cash income of $750. 
• HUD issued 76 emergency vouchers in Boone and Story County this winter for people who normally wouldn’t qualify for Section 8 subsidies but as of June, 31 are still not being used because almost all of Story County’s 250 landlords won’t accept people with evictions, incarceration, drug use in their past, even with Section 8 paying all but $25 of the monthly rent and utilities.  

Other barriers faced by many of our homeless residents include past evictions or foreclosures, other credit problems, former arrest and/or incarceration records, sporadic employment and substance abuse histories. And some people experiencing homelessness opt to remain unhoused due to a distrust of government and funder requirements of ongoing oversight by case managers

Our 913 & 915 Duff Avenue Studio Apartments project is targeted toward those with very low incomes. At least five of the eight units will be for people whose incomes are at or under 30% of the area median income (AMI). Income for the tenants of the other three apartments will be capped at 50% or less than the AMI. This project addresses these income issues by following the best practices model of limiting tenants' monthly rents and utilities payments to 30% of their income. The remainder of the HUD fair monthly housing expense will be paid by a combination of private donors, grants and local human services funding. 

Our tenant-screening process will prioritize those who are being shut out by other landlords. In addition, Home Allies will not require any tenants to participate in supportive services offered by local human service agencies, but will make a concentrated to effort to see that tenants know such services are available.

The Home Allies 913 & 915 Duff Avenue Studio Apartments project is estimated to cost $1.2 million for construction and first three years of rent subsidies. We are asking donors to contribute $175,000 during this fundraiser. The money will be combined with $175,000 in government grants and $50,000 in private donations already received plus other grant applications still in the works to serve as the cash investment for a mortgage covering the remainder.  

THE PROJECT IS ALREADY APPROVED BY OUR CITY COUNCIL. WE ARE SHOVEL-READY. OUR DEADLINE TO SECURE THE FINANCING AND SIGN THE CONTRACT WITH THE BUILDER AND PROPERTY OWNER IS SEPTEMBER 1, 2022. WE WOULD BREAK GROUND IN MID-SEPTEMBER WITH AN ANTICIPATED COMPLETION AT THE END OF NOVEMBER - JUST AS THE COLD AND SNOW ARRIVES IN IOWA.

WE THANK YOU IN ADVANCE.

Please note: Since Home Allies' 913 & 915 Duff Avenue Studio Apartments project will need to obtain a mortgage, the project may not proceed. Home Allies wants to assure donors that should the project not go forward, all monies donated in excess of $25 by each unique donor less third party processing fees will be refunded.