6A | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2021 | SIUSLAW NEWS
SIGNS from page 1A
Signs held messages such as,
“Demand Democracy,” “Protect
Freedom to Vote” and “Our Right
to Vote #ForThePeopleAct.” The
group organizer emphasized that
the mission behind the rally was
“to make [voting] easy.”
“For the People Act” is a bill
that was first introduced in 2019.
It was created to ensure all Ameri-
cans an equal opportunity to vote.
According to the U.S. Congress,
the bill seeks, “to expand Ameri-
cans’ access to the ballot box, re-
duce the influence of big money
in politics, strengthen ethics rules
for public servants and implement
other anti-corruption measures
for the purpose of fortifying our
HOUSING from page 1A
Habitat’s goal is to pro-
vide low-income families
stability by creating afford-
able housing. From there,
families can feel empow-
ered to save and earn fi-
nancial security.
The organization is cur-
rently seeking financial
assistance for the develop-
ment of another project,
she said. Habitat’s housing
projects are funded local-
ly through donations and
fundraisers.
As the 2020s progress,
the economic and social
growth for Florence and
the surrounding areas has
stalled because of limited
housing. This has created
strain for local service in-
dustry workers, K-12 edu-
cators, health care workers
and more, who must com-
mit to long commutes or
decline successful job op-
portunities because of little
to no living options. Some
residents have lived in
their cars or couch surfed
due to similar barriers.
This is why the need for
affordable housing grows
each day and what Habitat
for Humanity works to ad-
dress where it can.
According to the U.S.
Interagency Council on
Homelessness, “Living in a
stable, adequate home that
is affordable to the house-
hold yields a multitude of
opportunities and stron-
ger outcomes for children,
youth and adults. A stable
home provides a platform
for improved outcomes
around
employment,
health and education.”
Annual income depends
on several factors. For in-
stance, the location and
neighborhood, household
size, and the average hous-
ing wage per area. There-
fore, the annual income
rate translates differently
for each household.
The U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban De-
velopment (HUD) defines
an extremely low-income
household as those “whose
annual income does not
exceed 30 percent of the
median family income of a
geographic area.”
For Habitat for Human-
ity, Morgan said the orga-
nization believes afford-
able means “a mortgage
payment or rent payment
People gathered outside
Florence City Hall on Aug. 28
in honor of the 58th annive-
sary of Martin Luther King
Jr.’s March on Washington in
1963.
democracy, and for other purpos-
es.”
Previously this summer, the
Indivisible group has hosted “De-
mand Democracy” and “Demo-
cra-cy Can’t Wait” events. These
advocated to grab the attention of
U.S. Congress members “to step
up, do their job, and pass the act,”
organizers said.
For more information regarding
the Indivisible group and ways to
get involved, contact floren-cein-
divisible@gmail.com.
should be no more than
30% of the household in-
come.”
Based on her experience,
Morgan said the Florence
area is experiencing higher
amounts of income going
toward housing. “People
spend 50 to 70% of their
income in housing.”
This pattern is depicted
in the reports on hous-
ing trends conducted by
the National Low Income
Housing Coalition (NLI-
HC).
The coalition is an or-
ganization that educates
lawmakers and the public
about affordable hous-
ing while advocating for
strong housing policies
nationwide. Each year, the
NLIHC releases an annual
report after conducting re-
search on housing needs in
each state across the coun-
try to catalyze affordable
housing in all areas and
communities that need it.
According to this year’s
2021 report, the Fair Mar-
ket Rent for a two-bed-
room apartment in Oregon
averages $1,307 a month.
To pay less than 30% of in-
come on housing, a house-
hold must earn around
$52,000 a year, which
translates to about $25.14
per hour as Oregon’s hous-
ing wage, according to the
analysis.
Each state has its own
housing wage, which is the
income level that allows
for an individual to afford
a home.
For Lane County, the
housing wage is $23.10, ac-
cording to the same report.
In Florence, the minimum
wage starts around $12.75
per hour, while some es-
sential workers like teach-
ers, service industry work-
ers and firefighters earned
a median of $21.04 per
hour, according to a 2020
United States Department
of Agriculture report. Yet,
these figures are not indic-
ative of Florence’s housing
rates, and neither are those
of Lane County.
Based on the 2020 Cen-
sus report, Lane County’s
medium gross rent be-
tween 2015 to 2019 was
$989 a month, and prices
have increased since then.
For homes in Florence,
“anything that was once
$100,000 is now over
$300,000,” said Andy John-
We are open and
ready to assist you!
son, owner & principal
broker for Coldwell Bank-
er Coast Real Estate.
He added that affordable
housing has “almost evap-
orated” in Florence.
Compared to previ-
ous years, Lane County’s
housing wage to afford a
two-bedroom apartment
was $18.50 per hour, ac-
cording to NLIHC’s 2018
report. As of today, the
wage has jumped over $1
per year since 2018.
According to Morgan,
renting rates for hous-
ing are subject to increase
over the years. On the oth-
er hand, the value in the
mortgage part of the pay-
ment will not increase.
“If you have a fixed-rate
loan, your taxes and insur-
ance can fluctuate, but the
mortgage payment in and
of itself is always the same,”
she said. “It’s a good thing,
because it makes it a lot
easier to budget when you
know what your month-
ly payment is going to be.
With rent, you don’t know
if your rent is going to go
up until you get that no-
tice.”
The mission behind
Habitat for Humanity’s
organization is aimed to-
wards “building housing
to rehabilitate housing
to help create affordable
housing in the communi-
ty,” Morgan said.
Aside from efforts being
taken Habitat for Humani-
ty, households who fall un-
der the official government
standard of low income are
eligible for federal pro-
grams like the Supplemen-
tal Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP) and local
affordable rental housing
options such as the Siuslaw
Dunes, Tanglewood and
the Spruce Street Remod-
el. For a full list of afford-
able housing options and
programs in Lane County,
people can visit page 10
at www.oregon.gov/ohcs/
development/Documents/
applicants-recipients/
OHCS-Aff-Hsg-List.pdf.
According to the 2021
HUD Housing Trust Fund
Income Limit report, the
official government stan-
dard for Lane County
households eligible for
affordable housing must
earn less than $14,950 per
year for a single-person
household. For a two-per-
son household, the house-
hold must earn less than
$17,420 per year. A house-
hold of three people must
earn less than $21,960,
which is the same number
listed for other metropol-
itan areas such as Bend,
Albany, Grants Pass, Med-
ford, Salem, Baker County
and Coos County, and sev-
eral others.
As of recently, another
housing project by Habitat
for Humanity is planned.
The total cost of the de-
velopment will be around
$200,000, and the orga-
nization is continuously
fundraising and seeking
volunteers.
Additionally, this fall,
Habitat will offer work-
shops on financial train-
ing and budgeting to edu-
cate people on how to save
money.
“My heart is for the peo-
ple to understand the situ-
ation that $1,500 or $1,200
a month for an apartment
is not affordable in our
community,” Morgan said.
“For us, we want people
to be able to better them-
selves and continue to
grow. To go on further, in-
stead of continuing to stay
at affordable low-income
housing.”
For more information
on affordable housing re-
sources, definitions, and
rent relief in Lane Coun-
ty, visit www.eugene-or.
gov/4050/Looking-for-an-
Affordable-Home.
For low-income federal
assistance programs, visit
www.eugene-or.gov/4362/
Community-Support.
For more updates on
projects and workshops
held by the Florence Hab-
itat for Humanity, to do-
nate, volunteer and learn
more on how to apply for
a Habitat home, visit www.
florencehabitat.org.
Your guide to great
locally owned restaurants.
Big Fish Café
& Dinner House
345 Riverfront
Reedsport • 541-361-6331
Daily Fresh Seafood Specials
Steaks • Salads
Homemade Desserts
Pastas • Vegetarian/Vegan
Full Bar
All Occasion Catering
Private Parties
Beautiful Riverview
Open Tuesday - Saturday 4:00-8:00pm
Reservations Suggested
Weekly Special:
Now serving cod, halibut
& rockfi sh locally caught
by The Chelsea Rose,
Newport, OR
Friday:
Lobster Rolls
Wed-Sat 11am-9pm
www.nosheateryfl orence.com
541-997-5899 • 1269 Bay Street Old Town Florence
1255 Bay St • Next to Book N Bears
541-991-3322 • FlorenceArtefacts.com
We’ve got you
Surfside Restaurant
at Drift wood Shores Resort
Is Open for Dine-in & take out
from 4pm - 8:30 pm
Tuesday - Saturday
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88416 1st Avenue, Florence
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