“This is in every community, far and wide.”

Amy Riegel, executive director of the Coalition on Housing and Homelessness in Ohio, was speaking Monday about homelessness, poverty and the shortage of affordable housing in the Buckeye State.

The number of good paying jobs has not kept up with the soaring cost of housing here. So, “for every 100 extremely low income individuals looking for housing, there’s 40 units available,” according to Riegel.

Extremely low income is $27,485 or less for a family of four. In Ohio, 28% of renter households are extremely low income, and there is a shortage of 267,000 rental homes that are affordable and accessible to those people. But the problem is not just for those lowest earners.

“In the state of Ohio you’d have to earn $20.81 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment,” Reigel said.

Riegel also noted the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows of the top ten jobs occupied by Ohio workers, only two pay enough per hour for those workers to afford the modest two-bedroom apartment. And, again, that’s assuming those apartments or homes are even available.

Only a few local landlords are willing to take a chance on those with criminal backgrounds, substance use issues or mental health issues.

Policy makers must shift gears toward incentivizing the building of fair, affordable housing across the state. The alternative is figuring out how to support those individuals and families who are forced to survive any way they can.