Build the Infrastructure

STRATEGY 2:

Establish Training and Employment Options.

In order for individuals and families to become self-sufficient and remain housed, they need to secure and maintain employment. We acknowledge that this is not an easy process. Many of our clients have limited job skills and patchy work histories. We recognize that they need to incrementally gain experience and build a solid history of work, enabling them to make the transition to self-sufficiency.

As well, the lack of housing in and of itself is a significant barrier to obtaining training or employment. Often, however, homeless individuals have other barriers to employment, such as substance abuse, illiteracy, etc. As they address and overcome these barriers, we propose that employment and training programs be introduced to them.

In order to establish effective training and employment options for our clients, it must first be determined how homeless individuals currently access the workforce development system. This information will enable service providers to recognize the facets of service that are working and to identify barriers to access for the homeless. With that information, we will determine how we can improve access to local employment and training programs (i.e. non-traditional hours of service, going on-site to housing complexes, etc).

Recognizing that employable individuals have skills required by area employers, we will assess which area industries currently need workers in order to tailor training programs to community needs.

We further recommend that housing programs require individuals who are not yet self-sufficient and are entering or already reside in them to develop an Individual Employment Plan and/or Self-Sufficiency Plan. These plans can provide a blueprint for independence and long-term stability for the formerly homeless and those at risk for homelessness.

STRATEGY 3:

Establish a Living Wage.

As long as wages are not commensurate with the level required to maintain safe and stable housing, the front door to homelessness is open. When housing costs exceed 30% of income, an individual or family runs the risk of their rent or house payment becoming untenable should any type of emergency occur. When housing costs pass 50% of income, families and individuals are precariously housed. As previously cited in this report, for a single parent with children to afford a two-bedroom apartment in Vanderburgh County he or she would have to earn nearly twice the established minimum wage.

In 2002, The Self Sufficiency Standard for Indiana study compared the costs of housing, child care, food, transportation, and other necessities across the state. Based on that information, the study developed a "self-sufficiency" wage for individuals and families. This study moves beyond outdated guidelines and establishes a level of income required for individuals and families with children of specific ages living in specific areas of the state. Their calculations take into account, as well, tax benefits available for families with children.

The table above demonstrates their findings for Vanderburgh County. For example, the Self-Sufficiency wage for a two-parent Vanderburgh County family with an infant and a preschooler was $35,311 a year ($16.96 per hour). A single parent with a preschooler would need to earn $22,467, or $10.64 an hour to be self-sufficient.

In 1999, 7% of Indiana’s workers were earning within one-dollar of minimum wage, an income far below that indicated for either secure housing or for self-sufficiency. (Bernstein, The Impact of Minimum Wage, 1999, Economic Policy Institute, p. 8.) The Indiana self-sufficiency study identifies the gap between the wages earned by low-income families and what they actually need to meet their basic needs as the pressing challenge at hand. Families, the report states, have three options: "reduce costs, raise incomes, or a combination of both." (The Self Sufficiency Standard for Indiana, 2002, p. 7.)

Our Task Force has already identified the need to increase the availability of subsidized housing. But more subsidies that make housing affordable at low wages are only the first step. The establishment of a minimum livable wage for the community that is adhered to by employers and agencies receiving public-funded contracts is a first step in creating an economy that empowers individuals and families to become truly self-sufficient.

According to the report Poverty Despite Work in Indiana, studies undertaken on the effects of the 1996 and 1997 increases in the minimum wage refuted the common argument that the increase would lead to the loss of minimum wage jobs.

In their 1999 report The Impact of the Minimum Wage: Policy lifts wages, maintains floor on low-wage labor market, Jared Bernstein and John Schmitt contend that the small negative employment effects of a minimum wage increase diminish over time. They further clarify that minimum wage increases are effective in reducing poverty because households in the bottom 40% of income distribution will show 63% of the gains of a one-dollar increase in the minimum wage. (http://www.epinet.org)

The report also demonstrates that of the 8.4 million Americans who would benefit from a one-dollar increase in the minimum wage, 2.7 million are parents who care for 4.7 million children. Given the self-sufficiency statistics cited earlier, the fact that 63% of these low-income working parents had family incomes below $25,000 in 1999 is significant. According to Poverty Despite Work in Indiana, each 25-cent increase in the minimum wage results in an annual pay increase of $480 after taxes. Thus, a one-dollar increase in the minimum wage would result in over a $1900 increase in after-tax wages for these families, placing them far closer to the income level required for self-sufficiency.

A recent Economic Policy Institute publication entitled Employment and the Minimum Wage: Evidence from Recent State Labor Market Trends cites U.S. Department of Labor statistics that 12 states and the District of Columbia now require minimum wages above the federal level. These wages range from $5.50 in Illinois to $7.16 in the state of Washington. Jeff Chapman’s analysis claims that employers "may actually cause higher turnover and incur higher costs to recruit, train, and supervise their workers" by paying lower wages. (Chapman, 2004, p. 13.)

In addition to the establishment of a local living wage, we also encourage economic development efforts to bring high-wage jobs to the community. Jobs of this nature will allow new entrants into the system to fill positions created by the upward movement of existing employees.

STRATEGY 4:

Address the Employment Needs of Offenders, Youth and the Currently "Unemployable."

The Community Discharge Plan referred to earlier in this report should address not only housing needs, but the means to maintain permanent housing – steady employment.  We propose to coordinate employment with the Community Discharge Plan by seeking alternative funding sources for offender programs that establish a "lower bar" for employment success. This does not imply that we support lower standards for employees once they are hired and trained. We will work to create a climate in which employers who offer individuals an opportunity to succeed receive adequate funding and support for their efforts.

We recognize that the set of skills required to obtain and keep a job extend beyond vocational skills. To help close the front door to homelessness for at-risk youth, we support the development of on-site independent living programs at area youth homes.  These programs will equip young individuals with the daily living skills and attitudes they will need to remain employed and develop ongoing job skills.

According to the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office, the Vanderburgh County Community Corrections (VCCC) program currently maintains a listing of employers that is updated weekly. While over 75% of their participants come into the program unemployed, only 10 % of those who can hold down jobs leave without employment. (e-mail, Williams, 21 June 2004)

The VCCC utilizes the resources of Goodwill Industries and WorkOne in job training and employment services. In addition to job training programs, the program offers a series of classes in life skills, self-esteem, grooming, and other facets of instruction individuals need in order to secure and maintain employment.

The Task Force to End Homelessness learned of a new approach to establishing employment history of ex-offenders, youth and the unemployable, known as "Transitional Jobs." We will investigate this program further for effectiveness and compatibility with existing services in Evansville and Vanderburgh County, with an eye toward possible development of a similar program.