Affordable Housing Program
The public service program identified is the Affordable housing program conducted in the US both at the federal and state levels. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness (2016), Affordable housing programs include programs such as Project-Based Rental Assistance, Tenant-Based Rental Assistance, Public Housing Capital Grants, and the Public Housing operating funds all housed under the Affordable Housing Policy are aimed towards securing federal funding to enhance the development of affordable homes. The federal funds secured through these public programs provide effective housing assistance for the homeless as well as people with low income.
Program Funding
Budget allocations and proposals for the state of Massachusetts are overseen by the House Ways and Means Committee. According to chapa.org (2021), the budgeting allocations for Affordable Housing, Homelessness Prevention, and Community Development Programs include 14 distinct housing development programs which are allocated funds every year and are highlighted in figure 1 below. The different programs are responsible for different areas of housing development within the state with some being more critical programs than others and thereby receiving much higher budget allocations.
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Figure 1: Budgetary Allocations for the different housing programs in Massachusetts
Source: Chapa.org, 2021
The table indicates a total budgeting fund for affordable housing programs in Massachusetts within the last 3 Fiscal years, 2019, 2020, and 2021 to be 236.52 million, 259.95 million, and 263.96 million respectively. While the different allocations for the different programs considered under the budget fluctuate almost every year, especially the more critical and far-stretching programs such as the Mass Rental Voucher Program, the HomeBASE, and Foreclosure Prevention and Housing Counseling, the general budgeting allocation for the affordable housing programs in Massachusetts seem to be on an upward trend. A majority of the funding for these programs is allocated by the state through the use of federal grants and other community affordable housing grants developed by different state policies and agencies.
Adequacy of Budget Allocation
While the annual budgetary allocations for the state of Massachusetts has been on a steady but slow upward trend in the last three years, the budget allocation is still not adequate to effectively support the set programs. The inadequacy is clearly highlighted in figure 1 above given the failure of the budgetary allocations to meet the requested amounts by the House Committee in Ways and Means. According to Chapa.org (2021), the committee requested an estimated budget total of 306.27 million to be able to handle all of the deliverables and activities of the programs; However, the budget allocated only amounted to 263.96 million presenting a deficient of over 42 million which indicates the inadequacy of the budget allocations to effectively support the affordable housing programs in Massachusetts.
The National Alliance to End Homelessness (2020) highlights that 29 out of every 10,000 people in Massachusetts are homeless on a given night. The numbers compared to the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development's 2019 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress indicating that 18,471 people in Massachusetts were counted as homeless (Massachusetts Coalition of the Homeless, 2019), indicates an increase in the number of homeless individuals which is a testament to the inadequacy of the funding to affordable housing initiatives and programs in the state. In addition, the Corona Virus pandemic currently being experienced worldwide has dealt a significant blow to the programs and care homes leading to significant challenges in being able to accommodate more homeless individuals. Ho (2021) highlights that shelters now operate at a reduced capacity in the attempt to maintain social distancing as required by health regulations against the covid-19 pandemic. Organizations that were able to previously house the entire population of the homeless within the state are now struggling to provide adequate shelter for everyone while also maintaining social distancing confirming the inadequacy of the currently available funding for affordable housing within the state.
Recommended Policy for Future Program Funding
Affordable housing is a long-term problem that has existed since before the pandemic, and despite the governments' efforts to enhance the programs and end the problem of homelessness, no policy has been significantly effective thus far. Some of the policies advocated by advocates and industry professionals that could be used to enhance the future funding of the program according to Ellen et al. (2020) include increasing the supply of affordable housing and protecting and preserving the physical and financial viability of the already existent affordable rental houses.
Financial fluctuations and crises such as the covid-19 pandemic impact the economy significantly often times depreciating the value of assets such as Real Estate. Based on Ellen et al. (2020) the immediate recovery period offers a significant opportunity to increase the supply of affordable housing within the state of Massachusetts. Given the widely anticipated housing asset prices drop, affordable housing providers can purchase low-cost units and add them to long-term affordable housing stocks to further enhance the government affordable housing programs in the state. Further, policymakers can help preserve and protect existing affordable housing from financial instability and physical deterioration so as to ensure their continuous long-term operations in housing the homeless and thereby minimize the number of homeless people. This, as highlighted by Ellen et al. (2020) can be done by offering grants and subsidized loans to affordable housing owners in exchange for acceptance or extension of existing affordability requirements.
Impact of Current Budget Funds
The current budget funding is almost similar in a majority of the programs in comparison to the 2020 Fiscal year's budget. This indicates continuous normal operations which limit extended success for the programs in the long run. Given the impact of the pandemic which has effectively added to the number of low-income earners and the homeless, maintaining similar budgetary allocations means a drop in the level of success of the programs. Recommended funding changes including an increase of affordable housing supply as well as the protection and preservation of the existing affordable housing would significantly enhance the success of the programs. Increased funding would go to not only secure new low-cost units for enhanced affordable housing opportunities but assist affordable housing owners to maintain and repair the buildings to ensure low tenant turnover. Low turnover in affordable housing ensures more homeless and low-income earners have houses which then provide an opportunity for the programs in place to be more effective and successful.
Impact of Political, Social and Economic Climate on Funding
Significant social, economic and political factors exist that significantly impact the government's funding and policies in different issues. The social and economic issues faced as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic for instance led to the increase of budgetary allocations to significant programs including the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) (Chapa.org, 2021). The pandemics' impact on the social and economic environment left more people jobless and subsequently homeless while a majority received pay cuts to the level of not being able to manage decent housing. The Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP) and The Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) Programs also received increased budgetary allocations in 2021. These are programs that generally allow the population to be able to afford housing and they received increased budgetary allocations on account of diminished social and economic factors.
Impact of Funding on Different Beneficiaries
Budget allocations and Funding have had a significant impact on different stakeholders within the housing industry. According to Thomas (2017), funding and policies related to affordable housing have had a significant social impact leading to significant benefits to society. Families and individuals with low income can secure effective housing options which help to bring stability to the household. Stable households are more productive and ultimately enhance the development of the community.
Homeowners include another group of beneficiaries of the affordable housing funding programs and policies, through funding and subsidies provided by the government, Homeowners can be able to effectively maintain their property and retain tenants all year round leading to increased revenue on rent and significant maintenance of their properties. The Government as a stakeholder also recovers support from the real estate industry in its various affordable housing funding programs enabling the settlement of the homeless citizens and provision of low-cost houses to its low-income earners. In this way, the number of homeless within the state is significantly minimized highlighting success and benefit for the government as a stakeholder.
Conclusion
The Affordable Housing Policy along with its programs and endeavors has no doubt been significant in helping the homeless across the years. However, it has not been entirely effective in minimizing the number of the homeless in Massachusetts on account of the increased pressure by the covid-19 pandemic as well as the shortcomings of the budgetary allocations by the government. With the development and adoption of effective policies such as protection and preservation of the already existing Affordable housing units and increasing supply of affordable housing, the state of Massachusetts can significantly minimize and eradicate homelessness leading to the benefit of the government, homeowners in the real estate industry as well as the general community and society in Massachusetts.
References
Chapa.org. (2021). Governor Baker Releases FY2021 Budget Proposal | Citizens' Housing And Planning Association. Retrieved 10 June 2021, from https://www.chapa.org/housing-news/governor-baker-releases-fy2021-budget-proposal
Ellen, I., Graves, E., O'Regan, K., & Schuetz, J. (2020). Strategies for increasing affordable housing amid the COVID-19 economic crisis. Retrieved 10 June 2021, from https://www.brookings.edu/research/strategies-for-increasing-affordable-housing-amid-the-covid-19-economic-crisis/
Ho, E. (2021). Shelters lack space for homeless as winter arrives. Retrieved 10 June 2021, from https://www.milforddailynews.com/story/news/2021/01/03/massachusetts-shelters-lack-space-homeless-winter-arrives/4117231001/
Massachusettes Coalition for the Homless. (2019). BASIC FACTS ON HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING –. Retrieved 10 June 2021, from https://mahomeless.org/basic-facts/
National Alliance to End Homelessness. (2020). Massachusetts - National Alliance to End Homelessness. Retrieved 10 June 2021, from https://endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-america/homelessness-statistics/state-of-homelessness-report/massachusetts/
Thomas, M. (2017). On the Benefits of Affordable Housing. Retrieved 10 June 2021, from https://tqsoi.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/On-the-benefits-of-affordable-housing.pdf
