A study has found that more than 1,300 people in Porter County are in need of housing assistance, but existing programs can accommodate only about 11 percent of the needs.

The study, conducted by Housing Opportunities Inc. and Valparaiso University, gauged the housing needs of individuals and families in Porter and LaPorte counties and concluded that a large gap exists between available resources and the demand.

Based on counts conducted in February and March, 79 people in family units -- such as parents and their children -- received assistance through emergency shelters, transitional housing or permanent support housing, but more than 1,300 people were actually in need of the housing.

Among singles without children, the study found that 123 individuals had access to housing services, but that that there are actually 400 in need of the programs.

Caroline Shook, executive director of Housing Opportunities, said the numbers were derived by surveying agencies that provide housing assistance and asking the number of people on their waiting list or those who called looking for help within the past year. The numbers were compared with the actual number of family members and individuals being served.

The study also found that more than 800 families with children and 200 individuals were in need of other support services, such as job training, child care, substance abuse treatment or mental health care, but that only a fraction were receiving the help.

In LaPorte County, the study also found a large gap between services provided and the actual need, but Shook said the numbers are somewhat skewed because of low survey responses.

The results of the study will be forwarded to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and to the state to demonstrate the need for increased funding for housing services.

Shook said she hopes the results will promote awareness among the general public and public officials about the unmet needs in the community.

Many people may not feel that homelessness will affect them, she said. But with federal cuts in housing assistance at HUD, social service agencies will be expected to do more with less. Agencies may put out the call for more donations to keep afloat, “asking people to dig deeper,” she said.

“Thirteen hundred people is a lot of people in Porter County,” she said. “It will affect you.”

Porter County programs that provide housing services include the Spring Valley Shelter for the Homeless operated by Christian Community Action, Gabriel’s Horn, The Caring Place, Porter-Starke Services, CCA’s Greenwich House, Alice’s House and Housing Opportunities, Inc. In addition, the Salvation Army and The Aliveness Project offer vouchers for housing assistance.

Posted 4/25/2006