Our Mission

Our mission is to investigate the low cost housing opportunities in Kirksville, MO. Appropriate housing fulfills a basic need making it vital for a person to secure housing in order to progress with their life and become self-sufficient. Much of Kirksville lives in poverty, making the demand for low cost housing high. We are going to explore the opportunities that are currently available for low cost housing along with what is being planned for the future to expand those opportunities.

Data Collection

To collect information about the current housing opportunities available in Kirksville we have decided to conduct interviews with the Glen Moritz and Tricia Fehr. These individuals play an important role in the availability of housing in Kirksville and what is being done to improve housing opportunities in Kirksville. Along with these interviews, research on the need of afforable housing, and the opportunites currently avaiable will be conducted. This information will be collected from public information and statistics, and then evaluated. Combing the information gathered from this research along with the personal interviews conducted we will provide an assessment of the current housing opportunities available along with the future opportunities that will be available.

Evaluating the Need for Low Cost Housing

In Kirksville there are 10 affordable apartment properties, containing 454 low income apartments and 306 rent assisted apartments. To qualify for these apartments a person must HUD rental assistance standards. These standards evaluate a persons income and determine of they qualify for assistance and how much assistance they can qualify for. The population of Kirksville is 17,574 people with an average income of $26,178 per year, or $2,182 per month. The average rent in Kirksville in $591 per month. Households that need to commit 30% or more of their monthly income to rent are considered overburdened, in Kirksville 56.38% of households are overburdened. This means that over half the families in Kirksville are not able to provide sufficient food, clothing, or amenities due to having to paying rent.This is the first indicator that low cost housing opportunities are essential in Kirksville for the need of housing to be met.

Two forms that low cost housing is available in Kirksville are subsidized housing and voucher accepting housing. Subsidized housing is where landlords are given a government subsidy for keeping rent low enough for people in or near poverty to afford. There is also a voucher option called Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher. This program is funded by the Kirksville Housing Authority, and provides a rent voucher for people struggling to afford rent. They are able to take the voucher to a private housing complex that accepts them and live there on their voucher. Section 8 housing must meet certain guidelines. Landlords are subject to annual inspections and occasionally random checks to ensure that housings are up to date and meet standard regulations. The Section 8 Voucher requires that families or single users must pay 30% of their income towards rent, including specific utilities such as internet/cable, electric, and gas. However, based on need, rental assistance may be provided to pay for sewer, trash, and water. Additionally, families must sign a one year lease and can not break this lease or they will lose their voucher.

Section 8 Vouchers are regulated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The vouchers can only be used at specific units approved by the department. Those eligible for vouchers have incomes that do not exceed 30% of the area’s median income, therefore, those who make more than this percentage, are unable to apply and be accepted for a voucher. Families must report all incomes, funding, and speeding. If a family or person were to exceed specific amounts or fail to report, they become ineligible for the program.

Interview with Glen Mortiz

Glen Moritz is an upstanding citizen in Kirksville, MO who works hard to improve his
community. He was first elected to city council in 2013, he was then elected mayor in 2014.
During his time when he was on city council and then served as mayor, he established
Kirksville’s first dog park, he led raising money for Take Root Café, and he made a city
ordinance to secure human rights for people of any sexual orientation. These contributions along
with others, changed the lives of the people in Kirksville and made Kirksville a more welcoming
community. After his term as mayor he ran for reelection but lost by forty-six votes. Even though
he was no longer mayor he knew he still had the ability to help people in Kirksville and improve
their quality of life for people. Losing the election allowed him to devote his time to raising
money and laying the groundwork for a homeless shelter in Kirksville.

Glen named his project AM Housing after his son, Andrew Moritz, who died of a rare
cancer at the age of thirty-three. Andrew lived his life selflessly and as a leader to his
community, this project allows for that spirit to live on. Since AM Housing has been established
in 2017, the board has raised $43,000. The projected amount needed to open the shelter is
$100,000. To raise this money a variety of different fundraisers have been done. The project has
had a campaign kick-off, bake sales, rummage sales, and many private donations. The board of
AM Housing will continue to fundraise and is hopeful that the project will have a building within
the next year. It is not yet decided on whether the housing will be tiny homes with a center
complex for meetings, or if it will one connected building.

The need for a homeless shelter was first recognized by Mortiz when he realized that
churches were paying for homeless people to spend a few nights in the Budget Host motel. One
night in the motel is about $48, and various churches spend up to $40,000 a year providing
rooms for people there. Overcrowding of homes and couch surfing is also a major problem in
Kirksville. This not only leads to emotional stress of the tenants but is dangerous in case of fire
or any other disaster. Thus, making it clear that a need for a permanent facility that helped people
move off the streets was something Kirksville would benefit from. Mortiz believes that if AM
Housing could have the support every year that the churches and different community
organizations give to the motel, AM Housing would have the ability to help people more
effectively than the motel does. They would be able to this because of the rehabilitation structure
of AM Housing.

Inspiration for the structure of AM Housing will be taken after a homeless shelter in
Boonville, MO. People will enter AM Housing and have thirty days to find a job. During that
time, they will have counseling, support, and help in finding a job but they must be actively
looking. After thirty days they will enter a 120-day period where they will continue counseling
and receive advice and help in maintaining their finances to be able to move out and afford rent.
This is a rehabilitation model whose focus is for people to move off the streets and into a
sustainable home and lifestyle as quickly as possible. The housing is planning to provide two
meals a day for its tenants and is hopeful that it will be able to provide a form of child care if
some of the tenants have children. These amenities, along with following a rehabilitation model,
will provide the best chance for people to move out of AM Housing and become self-sufficient.

Interview with Tricia Fehr on Kirksville Housing Authority

In order to gain more insight into the low cost housing and programs available in Kirksville, an interview was conducted with Tricia Fehr, one of the secretaries at the Kirksville Housing Authority. Tricia has worked at the Housing Authority for almost a decade and is one of those in charge of determining who is qualified for funding and assistance from the program. The Kirksville Housing Authority opperates within the city limits of Kirksville and offers Section 8 Vouchers and public housing, Village 76 and Devlon Place.

The Kirksville Housing Authority is funded by United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In order to receive funding, the Housing Authority must submit monthly data about their residents’ income and backgrounds. HUD set regulations and rules on who is eligible for a section 8 voucher or the public housing that is provided and maintained by the Housing Authority. Such requirements include their monthly income, their criminal records, and whether or not those applying owe any debts to any other housing programs. Every person in the household over the age of 18 must be screened and the household will be determined to be ineligible if anyone over the age of 18 is found to violate any of the requirements and standards. If the applicant does not meet one of these guidelines, they can not be accepted into the program or receive a voucher. If the applicants income is too high, they can not qualify for assistance. Any applicant who is screened and found to have any criminal history of a violent of drug related crime from the last five years can not be given a voucher or other assistance from the Housing Authority, however, they do not have to receive any form of a drug test as part of the screening process. Additionally, registered sex offenders are the only people who can not receive assistance, even after the 5 year limit. Currently, they are ineligible for a lifetime. When asked what types of debts counted against applicants, Tricia explained that owing any money to other low income housing programs would count against them. These charges include late fees, damage to property, failure to pay rent, failure to report an increase or decrease in income.

As stated above, the Housing Authority operates the Section 8 vouchers in town, as well as running their own public housing. They currently opperate two public housing units: Village 76 and Devlon Place. Village 76 is for people aged 62 and older or those with disabilities. Those who live here must be independent, as the housing can not provide the services of a nursing home or hospital. These houses offer one to two bedrooms and rent is based off of 30% of gross income of the applicant, additionally, rent includes all utilities. Devlin Place is family housing and offers two through four bedroom homes. The size of the unit is based off of family composition, as some children may have to share a bedroom, or “two heartbeats per room” as Tricia explained. Rent is based off of 30% gross income and utilities include water, trash, and washer and dryers. Families are responsible for electricity and gas on their own.

A question that we had for Tricia was how the Housing Authority defined families. Many of the people who come into the program consist of families. We asked her if there was a definiton for what made up a family: did they have to a two parent household or did single parents/homosexual couples count as well. Tricia stated, “A family is a very broad term. It can include a single person, a husband and wife, a homosexual couple… anybody who applies is technically a family.” This lead to questions about age limits on children; if a child reaches the age of 18 are they no longer eligible to be apart of the assistance their family receives. The answer is no, that no child, regardless of age can be kicked out of the program, unless they fail to meet the requirements set by HUD. Many families take care of their adult children as they work or seek higher education, additionally, several families have adult children with disabilities who require full time care from their parents. Children still in school and under the age of 18, do not have to include any of their income into their family’s rent. Additionally, children over the age of 18 who are attending high education courses do not have to include their income in their family’s reports.

Approximately, there are 127 public housing units available and 177 voucher holders. These numbers do not exemplify the need, however, for low income housing. According to Tricia, there are currently 165 people on the wait list for Voucher 8, 30 people waiting for Village 76, and 70 people waiting for space to open up in Devlin Place. This is a concerning amount for the Housing Authority, as the need for housing is constantly growing every year. The Housing Authority is not emergency housing, and without a homeless shelter in Kirksville, the best that can be done is to put those in need in the wait list.

These alarming numbers show the increasing need for more affordable and available housing in Kirksville. While the Housing Authority is doing its best to fit the needs of those without homes or steady incomes, the lack of more units creates a problem for those going without homes.

Conclusions

Based on the findings evaluating the need for low cost housing in Kirksville we can determine that more opportunities need to available. Over half the population in Kirksville is struggling or not able to afford rent along with other basic living expenses. A lack of available housing to meet the high need those with low income also plays a role in the struggle of the citizens of Kirksville. This is detremental to not only the current citizen health and wellness of the population but the future health. If adults are not able to provide basic needs for their children those children are not able to grow and concentrate on important aspects of their lives such as education. This is turn affects the future of these children and Kirksville. Looking to the future, projects such as AM Housing are being developed to try and accommodate to this need. This is a step in a positive direction and will have long term effects that will benefit the population of Kirksville.

Contributors

Madison Clifton

B.S. Political Science

Emily Hayes

B.A. Psychology

Sociology Minor

Shaun

Works Cited

Interview from Tricia Fehr

Contribution from Glen Moritz

“Low Income Apartments in Kirksville”. Kirksville Housing Authority, 2018. https://affordablehousingonline.com/housing-search/Missouri/Kirksville

“What is Section 8?”. Kirsville Housing Authority, 2018. https://affordablehousingonline.com/housing-help/What-Is-Section-8

“Housing Choice Vocuhers Fact Sheet”. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2018. https://www.hud.gov/topics/housing_choice_voucher_program_section_8