The funding comes through HUD as part of the Housing Choice Voucher program, which provides rent assistance to low-income families while allowing them to choose where they will live.
Roslyn Miller, executive director of the McKinney Housing Authority, said the organization does not have final plans for how the grant funding will be used, but “to the best of [her] knowledge,” the funds will likely be used to “sustain the program” and the clients it currently serves.
Prior to the wave of unemployment that ensued during the spring shelter-in-place orders, affordable housing was already in low supply, Miller said.
Additionally, data from the Collin County Homelessness Coalition’s census of individuals experiencing homeless shows that homelessness had already been increasing before 2020.
A study conducted by Root Policy Research shows that almost half McKinney renters use more than 30% of their income to pay for housing costs. HUD considers families and individuals who pay 30% of their income on housing to be cost-burdened. Among those renters, nearly half use 50% or more of their income for housing expenses, which is considered by HUD to be a “severe” cost burden.
McKinney has seen significant residential real estate price increases since 2011; such increases make it difficult for people to find places to live where they pay no more than 30% of their income on housing.
With both the increase in McKinney’s housing prices and the financial burden that the pandemic has put on families across the country, the demand for affordable housing is rising, data shows.
Miller said that she has received far more daily inquiries concerning affordable housing since the pandemic hit.
“I can’t tell you how many people are trying to sign up during COVID,” Miller said. “I would say we probably get 100 calls a day, easily.”
Unfortunately, however, the wait list for some of the McKinney Housing Authority’s programs has been closed since before the spring lockdown.
“All we can do is refer people out to other offices,” Miller said.
The McKinney Housing Authority currently serves around 271 people with the voucher program and has a wait list of around 300 more, Miller said.