Homeless? On Martha’s Vineyard?

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines homelessness as:

• An individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence;

• An individual who has a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, including a car, park, abandoned building, bus or train station, airport, or camping ground;

• An individual or family living in a shelter

• An individual or family who will imminently lose their housing and lacks access to or the resources or support networks needed to obtain other permanent housing

The Department of Health and Human Services goes further to include 

“An individual may be considered to be homeless if that person is “doubled up,” a term that refers to a situation where individuals are unable to maintain their housing situation and are forced to stay with a series of friends and/or extended family members. “

Between February 2016 and May 2017, 120 individuals and/or families on Martha’s Vineyard self-reported to Housing Assistance Corporation that they were homeless or imminently at risk of becoming homeless and requested help in finding housing.  

• Forty (40) individuals were homeless

• Twenty-four (24) individuals were couch surfing

• Fifty-six (56) individuals were in process of being displaced because of end of lease, winter rental, eviction, and/or foreclosure and were unable to identify a new housing situation.

Of these 120,

• 58% Female; 42% Male

• 36% Families

• 37% 55 years or older

• 18% 62 years of age or older

In addition, in a one-year period, 2016-2017, five (5) Island residents who requested shelter died of health or mental health issues exacerbated by being homeless.

The incidence of homelessness does not appear to have abated. An average of 100 individuals and/or families dependent on the rental market self report a housing crisis annually. This statistic does not factor in the growing number of residents and families who are “doubled up” or “couch surfing” on a routine basis and do not choose to bring attention to their housing situation.  

Since 2019, Harbor Homes of MV has operated a winter shelter on the Island from November through March.  The shelter registers an average of 36 chronically homeless adults who have an opportunity to sleep at the shelter in the cold weather.  Chronically homeless individuals have been without stable housing for at least one year and have a disabling condition, including substance abuse or mental illness.  During the winter of 2021/22, approximately 10-12 individuals slept at the shelter nightly.

We now know the scope of this crisis and what does not work to address the immediate need. Finding a year-round rental property to house the homeless with HUD funding is an impossibility. Low income residents who feel fortunate to be allotted a state or federal rental voucher find that this is a useless piece of paper since there are no affordable apartments to lease.  

The affordable housing crisis…a slippery slope

As the cost of purchasing a home on Martha’s Vineyard now far exceeds the budget of most of the Island’s workforce, the need and demand for rental housing has increased. Given the limited supply of rental units, the demand has now far exceeded the supply. Exacerbating this situation is the new reality that the number of year- round housing units becoming seasonal homes is increasing and, as a result, shrinking the housing stock available for residents while there is still moderate growth in population.

The waitlists for the few affordable housing opportunities on the Island continue to lengthen. The Dukes County Regional Housing Authority that offers housing to those with incomes between 50% and 120% of the adjusted median income (AMI) of Dukes County listed 230 residents on their waitlist in 2017.  Island Elderly Housing reported a 4 year waitlist for subsidized elderly and disabled housing.

One of the dire consequences of this lack of access to rental housing on the Vineyard is the continuing spike in homelessness. While homelessness is increasing in many high-end real estate markets, the crisis on the Island is unique in 2 ways:

1.     Due to the lack of supply, any individual or family, regardless of income, who is dependent on a rental for housing is at risk of becoming homeless. This has affected town administrators, teachers, Stop and Shop employees along with low and moderate income residents.

 2.     Some of the housing being rented on the Vineyard meets the HUD definition of “not meant for human habitation” and the resident qualifies as homeless. This would include landlords renting sheds or detached buildings that lack heat, running water, bath or kitchen facilities.

Harbor Homes is the outgrowth of an extensive needs assessment, a review of research on effective programming for high risk low income homeless populations and an appreciation of the community values and characteristics of Martha’s Vineyard. Harbor Homes will house low income individuals in safe, stable single room occupancy residences. Harbor Homes will help us retain Island properties for Island residents.