Mission Statement:
To advance the prevention of homelessness and the creation of lasting solutions for homeless and at-risk individuals, children, and families throughout the Sioux Falls area.
What Poverty and Homelessness Looks Like in Sioux Falls…
Causes of homelessness are varied but can include poverty, domestic violence, mental health issues, catastrophic illness, unemployment, substance abuse, divorce, natural disasters, returning to civilian life after military service, and a lack of affordable housing.
A basic definition of homeless is someone who is lacking a permanent, safe place to live.
October 2017 Hunger and Homelessness Data
FOOD/HUNGER
2017 Poverty Guidelines 2017 Area Median Income - SF
- Individual $12,060 - $76,800
- Family of 4 $24,600
Every day, 106,646 people in South Dakota are at risk of going hungry and 68% must choose between paying for food or utilities
- In Minnehaha County, 17,816 people including 8400 children rely on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) to help meet their food needs.
Sioux Falls Public Schools serve 23,957 students in kindergarten through 12th grade and 963 children in pre-kindergarten programs.
The percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced-priced meals sits at nearly 50% District-wide
Feeding South Dakota has seen a 15% increase in the number of people needing food assistance this year.
- they are providing 3000 backpacks of food every week in the SF area to help ensure that children have some nutrition over the weekend
The Banquet
Banquet West has served 11,252 meals through September 2017 = 2 nights a week averaging approximately 180 people per meal.
85,243 evening meals served at The Banquet downtown to date 2,279 of these meals were served to children
- 5700 School Supply Backpacks given out for Project S.O.S.
HOMELESSNESS
Sioux Falls School District through 10.24.17 has identified 438 homeless students in 220 families with 13 unaccompanied youth
FY17: Volunteers of America, Dakotas - Street Outreach came into contact with 226 unduplicated individuals ages 16-21.
Nationally, 1 in 7 youth runaway from home every year and in 2016 have reported higher rates of abuse. In 2016, The National Runaway Safeline had 119 calls from South Dakota
In South Dakota, 29.4% of individuals with disabilities live below the poverty line.
Nationally, 37% of all homeless individuals have a disability.
Southeastern has enrolled 273 homeless individuals fitting “severely mentally ill” criteria so far this year and over 60% of those have a substance abuse disorder.
County Human Services Unduplicated Homeless Applications as of Sept 30, 2017
789 without Children 348 with children Total = 1,187
Total Overall Duplicated Applications to County = 5,022 (58.7% female)
Veterans
FY 2017 in the Sioux Falls area, 338 Veterans were served in the Homeless Outreach and Prevention programs with the VA.
130 Veterans were identified as homeless during our January 2017 statewide annual point- in-time count.
Drug, DUI and Veterans Court in 2017
- Have 97 active participants of which 22 have minor children
- Has successfully graduated 31 participants
Shelter
St. Francis House
319 total unduplicated guests (159 men and 160 women) through October 26, 2017
- 94% have dependency issues and 49% report mental health issues
Bishop Dudley Hospitality House
- 1279 unduplicated guests through September 2017
Union Gospel Mission – 17,093 nights of lodging through August 31, 2017 averaging about 70 guests per night, and 62,357 meals during the same time
Domestic Violence
Children’s Inn – through August 2017 – 10,091 shelter days with 918 women and children
CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) 188 children assigned through October 25 which is 46 more than the same time as last year indicating a significant increase in the number of children experiencing repeated abuse and/or neglect.
Housing
On a very positive note, South Dakota ranks 49th out of 50th for most affordable housing according to http://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/oor/OOR_2017.pdf
Affordable housing typically means a person is paying no more than 30% of their income towards their monthly rent. For a 2-bedroom unit at 2018 FMR, a person needs to be earning approximately $15.02/per hour and for a 1-bedroom approximately $12.30/per hour.
Final FY 2018 Fair Market Rents By Unit Bedrooms |
|||||
Year |
Efficiency |
One-Bedroom |
Two-Bedroom |
Three-Bedroom |
Four-Bedroom |
FY 2018 FMR |
$535 |
$639 |
$781 |
$1,045 |
$1,217 |
FY 2017 FMR |
$543 |
$655 |
$811 |
$1,098 |
$1,296 |
:
Housing Choice (Section 8) Voucher Wait List as of 10/04/2017 = 2166 households |
|||
30% or less of Median Income |
1774 |
30-50% of Median Income |
392 |
1 bedroom household |
856 |
1 bedroom household |
160 |
2 bedroom households |
485 |
2 bedroom households |
137 |
3 bedroom households |
352 |
3 bedroom households |
85 |
4 bedroom households |
70 |
4 bedroom households |
10 |
5 bedroom households |
11 |
5 bedroom households |
0 |
Wait list tops 4 years for someone to receive this vital housing assistance through SF Housing and Redevelopment Commission. The last person contacted on the wait list applied June 2014.
For additional information and updates, please review this Snapshot of Economic Indicators for Sioux Falls:
Contact info:
Kari Benz
Homeless Advisory Board
521 N. Main Avenue, Suite 201, Sioux Falls, SD 57104
(605) 367-4217
Main County Contact Information Minnehaha County Commission Office 415 N. Dakota Ave. Sioux Falls, SD 57104 Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. |
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