{"id":20249,"date":"2023-11-16T03:06:18","date_gmt":"2023-11-16T03:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=20249"},"modified":"2023-11-16T03:06:18","modified_gmt":"2023-11-16T03:06:18","slug":"blaine-county-housing-crisis-and-community-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2023\/11\/16\/blaine-county-housing-crisis-and-community-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Blaine County Housing Crisis and Community Action"},"content":{"rendered":"

Housing in a Needs-Based Economy<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

BY ISAIAH FRIZZELL<\/em><\/p>\n

Needs, needs and kneaded needs<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Abraham Maslow\u2019s 1943 paper, \u201dTheory of Human Motivation,\u201d he outlines a ladder of human needs beginning with the basic physiological and evolving into the ideal transcendental. This series of evolving human needs, often depicted in the shape of a pyramid, expresses the first tier, the most fundamental and universal of human needs, as air, water, food, clothing, and shelter.
\nMaslow\u2019s \u201cHierarchy of Needs\u201d is a thorough and practical model of the human condition that provides an elegant metric to maintain an objective perspective on where you are in your life, what needs are being met and which aren\u2019t. Do you have food, clothing and shelter? How do you meet those needs? When planning for your future, what happens in the event of a crisis or roadblock to acquiring basic needs?<\/p>\n

General Insecurity<\/p>\n

As of July 2022, Blaine County had an estimated population of roughly 24,866 with around 50% female, 22.3% seniors (65 and over) and 22.9% under the age of 18. There are a recorded 15,959 housing units for around 2.69 persons per home \u2014 the households come out to around 8,579\u2026 [census.gov]. Statistically, that means about 25,000 people, 16,000 homes\u2026 [census.gov]. Seems legit \u2014 especially if the median income recorded at the census is around $71,749. Does that number sound right?
\nThe Blaine County Housing Authority (BCOHA), per its own website, BCOHA.org, word of mouth in the community and here at Wood River Weekly has expressed serious concern over what they\u2019ve been warning is a housing crisis since at least 2020. Rents have skyrocketed with seemingly infinite waiting lists for affordable housing. We\u2019re not talking just stand -lone homes, with yards, fences and garages, but also apartment complexes. BCOHA went so far as to pass a resolution in 2020 asking the community to get involved.
\nWhat can the community do to help alleviate the rising cost of housing? Perhaps one of the lowest rents available was at Valley View Apartments in Hailey. In just one year the complex went from around $800 for a one-bedroom unit to $1400. Why? What exactly causes rent increase? These questions are multifaceted and stem from a variety of places, such as national immigration from places ike Los Angele, or even Jerome, Idaho, to international immigration.
\nAdding to those, there is supply-chain disruption driving the prices of materials and transportation up and even worker shortages as people, at least on the surface, seem less willing to work for what many think are lagging wages. (see https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2023\/11\/01\/school-district-trustee-in-drivers-seat\/)
\nThe average weekly wage in Blaine County in the first quarter of 2023 was $1,094 [bls.gov]. With median gross rent at $1,052 [census.gov], that\u2019s around three times the rent average for a rental application. tTis should cover it, right? But have you been to the grocery store lately? Should we go into the rising costs of food also?
\nA number of apartment complexes were asked about the changes in their rental rates. There were vagaries, hang-ups, refusals to answer and, of course, the shifting of blame. In other words, business as usual.
\nSpeaking to people in the community, fingers point all over the map \u2014 from the Federal Reserve interest hikes, Executive branch policy, COVID and the remote-work option, to supply chain, monetary changes, Airbnbs, etc. All of these bracket into a mix of general insecurity.
\n\u201cEverything really started with COVID \u2026 no one wants to work because they\u2019re afraid they\u2019ll get sick, or they are sick or just got over being sick. It\u2019s kinda silly but it\u2019s just everything has gone up…\u201d Marco, an independent contractor and freelance editor (remote), as well as lifetime resident of Hailey, continues to talk about working multiple jobs and how many times he\u2019s moved. \u201cI was\u2026 living month to month, paying about a thousand in a place they were redoing\u2026 cutting it up to make an Airbnb. I stayed with a friend for a while and finally got into a studio. The owners are kinda friends\u2026 they\u2019re helping me, but I know they can get more from a stranger,\u201d he finishes with almost a tinge of guilt.
\nIs it appropriate to feel guilty for getting a good deal? If you\u2019re charging rent, how much is enough to cover your costs and make a profit? If we isolate where the pressure is being applied, such as materials price hikes, can we fix the problem? So much of this is subjective and likely solved on a case-by-case basis.<\/p>\n

Solutions<\/p>\n

There are a number of options for rent (and other financial) relief.
\nThe Blaine County Charitable Fund (blainecf.org) offers a First\/Last\/Deposit Assistance Plan that operates on a weekly revolving schedule. You can apply before Thursday, bring in proof of income and a rental agreement and with this they\u2019ll do their magic. If you qualify, they\u2019ll let you know by the next Thursday and, if successful, help you pay those three sums to get you in your new space.
\nThe Blaine County Housing Authority offers assistance with lower rent community housing:
\n\u201cNew Ketchum affordable rental studios or one-bedroom apartments available for income categories 4 and 5
\nA single person earning between $47,000 and $70,750 would be eligible; a couple earning between $53,700 and $80,600 would also be eligible for one of these units. 2022 tax returns and four pay stubs are required for proof of income. Please submit an application through our website or update your current application so you don’t miss being considered for one of these units.\u201d [BCHOA.org]
\nAnd of course there\u2019s the Idaho House and Finance Association which offers Section 8 vouchers for those who qualify.
\nOne other option is The Agape Fund operated by the Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood in Ketchum. They offer relief for a variety of financial issues with a one-time grant. (https:\/\/www.pcbw.org\/agape-fund-assistance-form)
\nBlaine County is a resort town with a rich history in Idaho where the owner-occupied housing units have a median value of nearly double the state average, and times are rapidly changing.
\nWhat can the community do to help keep Sun Valley, as a destination resort, alive? Donate? Volunteer? Innovate? Does a tent city sound reasonable for the people who help you year-round?
\nRecreational facilities, restaurants, school programs all need happy, healthy, anxiety-free workers and these people need affordable housing, at the very minimum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Housing in a Needs-Based Economy BY ISAIAH FRIZZELL Needs, needs and kneaded needs In Abraham Maslow\u2019s 1943 paper, \u201dTheory of Human Motivation,\u201d he outlines a ladder of human needs beginning with the basic physiological and evolving into the ideal transcendental. This series of evolving human needs, often depicted in the shape of a pyramid, expresses […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20250,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72,82,18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-20249","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-community","8":"category-housing","9":"category-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20249"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20251,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20249\/revisions\/20251"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}