MARYVILLE, Tenn. — Julie Sharpe is Maryville's director of affordable housing. She said that affordable housing has always been an issue, but the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation only worsened it.
“The cost of housing in general, in this area, is not affordable to most of our working families," said Sharpe. "We're seeing prices for a three-bedroom home up to $2,500 a month, and our families, they cannot afford that. It is a crisis.”
Sharpe says more than 1,000 people applied for public housing in the past year. She said the city was only able to house 50 of them.
Non-profit organizations like Family Promise said they are having a hard time too trying to connect people with stable living situations in the face of rapidly rising rent prices.
April Smith, the organization’s director, said they combat homelessness by helping families find a place to live. She also said income plays one of the most important roles when it comes to a person's ability to find a place to live.
Years before, people only needed to make three times the cost of the rent. That has changed.
“We now say that they need to make four times their rent to be able to afford everything,” said Smith.
While there are not many solutions right now, Smith said landlords could help by working with tenants and affordable housing agencies to adjust their costs and meet the needs of prospective tenants.