This summer, I was partnered with the Community Action Partnership (CAP) in Madison County to determine the availability of subsidized housing options in the county. Subsidized housing is a general term for government programs that offer rental and ownership assistance to low- and moderate-income individuals. CAP is a local non-profit business which has many outreach programs that offer assistance to the low- and moderate-income community. Their mission is to assist individuals, families, and children with society’s problems today, to build a stronger future for themselves and the community. One of CAP’s current housing initiatives is to develop four tiny homes that will each house a family. They have also developed an accessible rapid-housing program which low-income families can contact in order to start the process of getting a new shelter. CAP is one of the few outreach programs that works directly with the low-income community and has been advocating for the community for nearly 40 years.
In Madison County, and Central New York as a whole, there is a housing shortage for low-income families. This is one of the main issues CAP is working to solve by bringing awareness to the lack of housing options in rural areas and by trying to supply as many individuals and families with resources to find housing. On the state level, New York City has the highest rate of homelessness, thus many of the state resources are allocated to the city’s efforts. This occurrence glosses over the housing issue in more rural communities, like Madison County, because there is such a focus on urban environments. By working directly with low-income individuals, CAP is working to change and develop local policies to make sure the rural communities of Central New York are suitably served.
My main objective for this project was to get a better picture of the subsidized housing options and availability in Madison County. To determine how many affordable housing units are offered in Madison County, I reviewed what properties are on the HCR Multifamily Asset Map. HCR is the New York State Department of Homes and Community Renewal and is dedicated to developing and protecting affordable housing. The map also includes who manages the properties. I researched individual management companies to see what other subsidized properties they managed in Madison County. Once I had these locations, I called the properties to verify how many units existed at each location and what the waitlists looked like to determine the availability.
Having an accurate idea of what the housing stock is allows policy makers at CAP to advocate more thoroughly for the community’s needs. There are 673 subsidized rental units in Madison County, distributed between 18 different properties. Only four properties will soon have available housing and 11 sites have no vacancies. Three properties were not able to confirm what their waitlist looked like. Many of the properties with no vacancies have waitlists that are about 2 years long. There is a very low turnover rate for these properties because it is challenging to get placed in a unit when there is a high demand and low supply of housing units. With this information in a formal write-up, CAP will be able to use this data when applying for housing grants and to show policy makers that Madison County has a need for more affordable housing units.
As a biology major, most of the research I’ve conducted in my academic career has been in the natural sciences. However, prior to this summer, I was debating adding a Global Public and Environmental Health minor. There were plenty of different programs to apply to at the Field School but I was particularly drawn to this project to see if I would like to learn more about Public Health. I think this research was a great way to be exposed to Public Health and how it’s applied to the real world, outside of a classroom. My findings and experiences in the local community have given me a new perspective and a push to explore a different field. I hope to continue learning about Madison County and other communities outside of the “ Bubble.” My experience with the Field School has confirmed that I will be pursuing this minor.