Chipping away at housing crisis

COEUR d’ALENE — Maggie Lyons is on a mission to solve the local low-income housing crisis.

Working on long-term, relationship-based solutions for affordable housing, Lyons is serving as the interim executive director of the Panhandle Affordable Housing Alliance, or PAHA.

“It is possible for Kootenai County to have affordable housing options for everyone, for our young people, our neighbors, our workers, our retirees and our poor,” said Lyons, who is also known as the founder of Charity Reimagined and a driving force working with Press Christmas for All.

Programs have always been available to help meet housing and other basic needs but, Lyons said, those programs aren't always effective.

“What often happens is an unintentional reinforcement of shame and hopelessness,” she said.

Lyons said the missing element is that “benevolence help needs to shift to the development of people.”

“People want opportunities to get better,” she said.

To Lyons, it's crucial the person receiving assistance has a personal interest in the pursuit of stability. A manageable financial investment and a focus on continued personal achievement is a step toward self-sufficiency.

“Truly every one of us has gifts and talents and our own resources,” Lyons said. “But if we are not insisting that people tap into those gifts and talents and affirming that they are gifted and talented, we’re not doing it right.”

POVERTY EDUCATION

Part of the problem is that the general public isn't aware of actual poverty issues, Lyons said.

There are different types: the generational poor and the working poor. Both groups have different struggles and access to different resources. The solutions to their problems are varied.

Eighty-three percent of those born into generational poverty will never leave it, Lyons said.

“We expect the generational poor to think like the middle class,” Lyons said. “But what they think is that there is no hope and no opportunity.”

The other group is the working poor, who "spend everything they make just trying to get by,” she said.

In Kootenai County, HUD housing considers the median income to be $65,000 a year. Someone making 50% of the median would earn $16.20 per hour. By HUD standards, low income is considered someone making $26 per hour.

It's recommended that 30% of one’s income be spent on rent, but with current housing costs skyrocketing, that isn’t the case for most people, Lyons said.

With about 65,000 households in Kootenai County, Lyons said 40% of them cannot afford basic essentials. Kootenai County is the third-most expensive county in the state to live in, she said.

Another issue is the housing affordability gap. Many are paying over 50% of their income on housing.

“We can’t change welfare, food stamps or other programs that reinforce dependency,” Lyons said. “But we can work from a capacity-building perspective, rather than dependency-building.”

HOUSING SOLUTIONS

PAHA will focus on two models, “flourishing housing” for the generationally poor and "asset limited income constrained but employed," or ALICE.

The concept of flourishing housing allows for “wrap-around resources.” For example, Lyons studied a high-density housing complex that offered a parent center. The parents living in the apartments run the center. Tutoring is provided for children, meals are prepared in a group setting and parenting classes are offered.

“After about a year with these parenting centers they saw a 30% decrease in foster-care placements,” Lyons said.

ALICE offers safe, quality housing based on income. The rent cost would be adjusted to 30% of a resident's income, for example.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

PAHA is the new face of what used to be known as the North Idaho Housing Coalition, which has something of a dark past.

A scandal occurred in 2018 when it was discovered former executive director Lori Isenberg had embezzled more than $579,000 from the organization.

In May of 2021, she pleaded guilty in accordance with Alford to second-degree murder in the 2018 death of her husband, Larry Isenberg. Lori Isenberg was sentenced to life in prison.

Lyons was asked to step in and help the coalition recover.

“It was a disaster,” she said. “Professionally, I clean up messes, financial messes. I didn’t know anything about low-income houses but I thought, 'Let’s see if we can right the ship.'”

And they did. One hundred percent of the stolen money has been recovered, Lyons said. The organization has rebranded as PAHA and is ready to move forward.

THE FUTURE OF PAHA

PAHA has no openings for housing, but they're confident about the future, Lyons said. The organization recently acquired land in Post Falls. In 2022, eight low-income apartment units will be built using the flourishing housing model.

“Being poverty-informed makes a world of difference in how we help people who are struggling to meet basic needs,” Lyons said.

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The Press will monitor PAHA's progress and continue to report on its advances.