Updated: Oct 31, 2022
People of color frequently experience worse housing outcomes in Greater Des Moines than the community as a whole.
But new partnerships are coming together to narrow the gap in areas where it persists, like homeownership.
Like so many communities, Greater Des Moines has work to do to overcome historic housing discrimination like we chronicled in our Redlining in Des Moines online experience.
The consequences persist: Iowa’s rates of Black and Latinx homeownership rates are lower than the national average, according to a report the Iowa Association of Realtors commissioned.
18.6 points lower for Black Iowans versus nationally
9.6 points lower for Latinx Iowans versus nationally
A group of financial institutions, real estate professionals, community organizations and others have gathered to work on this challenge. The effort is convened as part of the One Economy project.
One promising local program to boost Black homeownership in response to that work is Journey to Homeownership by our colleagues at Neighborhood Finance Corporation.
Other organizations and financial institutions are also stepping up to improve their efforts. Nationally, an effort called 3 by 30 is working to create 3 million new Black homeowners by 2030.
On the local scene, another compelling effort is the Iowa Latinx Project which last year released the report Nuestro Iowa (Our Iowa) detailing "statistics and stories from the Central Iowa Latino community" including on housing.
What do all of these efforts have in common?
First, they rely on cross-sector partnerships - with stakeholders from the community and government joining business leaders in the housing, real estate, and lending sectors (and beyond).
And second, they focus on digging deep to create systems to support equitable prosperity.
The Polk County Housing Trust Fund is committed to supporting, learning, and growing within these efforts to enhance housing opportunities for for everyone in Greater Des Moines. Sign up to stay informed about our work.
One more thing: The image for this post on social media shows data from the National Equity Atlas, which is useful source of information on racial and economic equity.
Updated: Oct 31, 2022
The struggle to afford housing is a fact of life for the working poor in every community across Greater Des Moines.
Yet solutions are available to keep opportunity in reach. A local initiative called Here We Grow is helping share what works.
It’s a paradox: Communities people flock to for their prosperity are often places where it's more difficult to live on an hourly wage.
Business leaders have noticed. A recent statewide survey published by the Business Record shows 62% of business and economic development leaders in Iowa think the state needs to change how we think about housing to get ahead.
It’s happening here too. This map shows how many renters earning under $50,000 are struggling to afford the rent in each metro city.
Unfortunately, those struggling include many of the essential workers in our community, including child care workers, home health aides, retail salespersons, teaching assistants and others. One recent study found that there are over 41,000 workers in our 5-county region who can't afford to live on their own, even when earning in the 90th percentile for their occupation.
Through the Here We Grow effort, a Capital Crossroads initiative, the Polk County Housing Trust Fund is helping foster a regional conversation about new solutions.
And there’s reason for optimism. Here's just some of the good news we summarized in our annual report that dropped yesterday.
West Des Moines used local funds to support workforce housing in Valley Junction.
Waukee recently offered a request for proposals to build workforce housing near Northwest High School.
Johnston helped assemble land to add multi-family housing near its new Johnston Town Center campus.
Des Moines adjusted tax incentives to promote missing middle housing.
We’re working to continue to build momentum for workforce housing solutions the region needs. Sign up to stay informed about our work.
Updated: Oct 31, 2022
Thousands of Polk County residents are struggling to afford the place they live.
The Polk County Housing Trust Fund works to change that through planning, advocacy, and funding. We explain how in our new annual report.
What's the problem? The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates there are just 23 homes that are both affordable and available for every 100 extremely low income households in Polk County.
Many people in this situation are working service and retail jobs, or child or elder care roles. Others are seniors and people with disabilities.
One recent study found that 41,000 people in our 5-county metro area-most in Polk County-cannot afford to live on their own, even when earning in the 90th percentile for their occupation.
The greatest hardship is among people with annual incomes under $20-25,000/year, but pain is creeping up the income scale as costs rise.
How do we help? The Polk County Housing Trust Fund allocated over $2.5 million last year to help these people and families find and keep their housing.
Our funding last year will create or protect over 1,000 affordable homes.
We funded programs and services to helped 2,099 households find housing and develop skills for self-sufficiency.
We can’t solve the problem alone, so we collaborate and advocate for solutions in the community to achieve even more.
Each day this week, we will be sharing additional information about people and organizations working to help. Sign up to stay informed about our work.