Agenda - 04-12-2005-8c - Laserfiche WebLink

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7 income and low-income renters, there has been an overall reduction in the number of housing problems. Owner Households Over 20% of all owner households experience a housing problem, which represents a 0.3% in- crease since 1990. The percentage of extremely low-income owners who experience a cost burden over 50% increased since 1990 to 49.3%. During this same period, however, extremely low income owners experienced a slight decrease in any housing problems and in cost burdens of more than 30%. Among very low-income and low-income owners, there has been an overall increase in the number of housing problems Disproportionate Needs Among renters, Hispanic households experience a disproportionately higher percentage of housing problems' in Orange County, Among homeowners, African Americans, Hispanics and Asian Americans experience a disproportionately higher percentage of housing problems. When looking at all households (renters and owners), Hispanic and Asian American households ex- perience adisproportionately higher percentage of housing problems, Very low-income house- holds (those earning less than half of the area's median income) and extremely low-income households (those earning less than 30% of the area median income) have the greatest number of housing problems, whether renters or homeowners. Supportive Housing for Non-Homeless Persons with Special Needs In examining supportive housing for persons with special needs, Orange County has considered the needs of the elderly, persons with disabilities (including mental, physical and developmen- tal), alcohol and substance abusers and persons with HIV/AIDS. People with supportive housing needs have special housing and care needs, largely because they are out of the workforce and/or have substantial medical and care requirements,. The types of housing for the elderly (and all those with supportive housing needs) vary depending on the services needed to meet the requirements of the residents. In general, those who provide spe- cial housing needs offer an array of services. Efforts are made to ensure maximum independ- ence in the least restrictive setting, but onsite support of those with special needs is often needed. Service providers for people with special needs face substantial challenges. In 2000, there were 7,164 elderly households in Orange County, of which, 61.2 percent were low-income. Develop- mentally disabled and mentally ill in the County both need case management, support services, and outpatient treatment services for monitoring and treatment. Alcohol and substance abusers have access to outpatient services in Orange County, but are required to go out of the County for residential treatment.. ' Households with housing problems are those households occupying units without a complete kitchen or bathroom, that contain more than one person per room andlor that pay more than 30% of their income to cover housing expenses. [g]