AFFORDABLE HOUSING OPTIONS
In addition to new homes and apartments that are under construction, several area nonpro t organizations are working to increase access to temporary housing and to create additional a ordable options. Housing available at below market rent is considered a ordable.
CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO HOMELESSNESS The National Alliance to End Homelessness lists several key contributing factors that place an individual at risk of experiencing homelessness.
EMERGENCY SHELTERS
TRANSITIONAL AND SUPPORTIVE HOUSING
INDEPENDENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING
BELOWMARKET HOMEOWNERSHIP
MARKET RENTAL AND HOMEOWNERSHIP
HOUSING Low housing inventory pushes prices higher. INCOME Stagnant wages often cannot keep pace with increases in the cost of living. The sudden loss of a job also increases the risk of homelessness. HEALTH CARE Lack of access to a ordable health care can cause or exacerbate homelessness. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Survivors of domestic violence risk becoming homeless when leaving an abusive relationship or situation. RACIAL INEQUALITY Minority groups in the United States experience homelessness at higher rates throughout the country.
• NB Housing Partner’s First Footing • Connections Individual and Family Services • Crisis Center of Comal County • Family Promise of Greater New Braunfels
In development: • NB Housing Partners’
NB Housing Authority public housing • Laurel Plaza and Villa Serena Housing Vouchers • Section 8 Nonpro t property • Bavarian Manor, Village Circle, Eden Heights Rental Assistance
• Comal
• 98% of NB housing production is at market rates • Many new developments plan to incorporate housing at a variety of price points • 1,747 residential permits issued in 2021
County Habitat for Humanity
Second Step Community • NB Food Bank Appleseed Apartments
Around 51 units
Around 916 units
First Footing can serve 34 individuals at a time. Other crisis shelters'
Apple Seeds will have 51 units
Out of about 9,248 multifamily units: 653 a ordable *
capacity varies by need.
Non-market temporary
Non-market permanent
Market permanent
SOURCES: CITY OF NEW BRAUNFELS, NATIONAL ALLIANCE TO END HOMELESSNESS, NB HOUSING PARTNERS COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
*AS OF 03 22
Census Bureau showed median gross rent prices have risen 23.8% between 2015 and 2020. Median household income rose 19.35% during the same period. According to the National Coali- tion for Homelessness and the United States Interagency Council on Home- lessness, the risk of residents expe- riencing homelessness rises when housing prices grow without a signi - cant increase in housing inventory or a comparable rise in household income. “A ordability in New Braunfels is getting challenging,” Biesboer said. “Homelessness is vast; it’s families and kids in our school systems here locally that might be living with another family because they can’t a ord to live by themselves. It’s that woman or even that man who’s ee- In February 2021, NB Housing Part- ners and other local nonpro t orga- nizations joined to create the First Footing shelter program. The program uses hotel space to house those experiencing home- lessness in the New Braunfels area ing domestic violence.” Building support systems
and connects individuals with local support resources, assists with job searches and ultimately works to nd permanent housing. Since beginning operations, the shelter served more than 240 peo- ple, said Kellie Stallings, the coordi- nated entry administrator for the First Footing program. While 82% of those served have lived in New Braunfels for at least six months, the average person served have lived in the community for an average of 11 years. “These are our neighbors, these are not people coming in from Austin or San Antonio who have their own resources,” Stallings said. “If we nd out somebody is not from our com- munity and they have support sys- tems somewhere else, we are going to connect them to where they have the most supports.” Of those served, more than 95 have been connected to more permanent housing options, Stallings said. The program primarily serves sin- gle men and couples, Stallings said, while youth are referred to Connec- tions Individual and Family Services, and single women and woman-led families are referred to Family
Promise of Greater New Braunfels or the Crisis Center of Comal County. “One of the rst things that we do when somebody comes to ask for help is we nd out the circumstances that led to their homelessness,” she said. “The goal, ultimately, is nding a home. If all we were doing is pro- viding a place for someone to stay for the night, then we are enabling that homelessness.” Since the program began, Stallings and her team have been planning to purchase a larger facility where agen- cies could provide services and sup- port individuals in the program. One location that has been consid- ered is the former Comal County Senior Citizens Center, located at 655 Landa St., New Braunfels, Stallings said, though nothing has been nalized. The Comal County Senior Citizens Foundation still owns the original location as the group is in the process of transitioning its operations, accord- ing to the foundation. The 655 Landa St. building will eventually be sold. Though no decisions have been made regarding the property, Stall- ings said the building’s central loca- tion would be bene cial for the First
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Getting priced out The average monthly rent in New Braunfels was estimated to be $1,403 in 2021, according to data from Apart- menttrends.com, representing a 12.4% increase from 2020 when the average rent was $1,229 per month. In February, the median home sale price in New Braunfels was $345,000, marking a 23.46% increase year over year, according to data released by the Four Rivers Association of Realtors. “We have a lot of investors coming in, and buying up and xing and sell- ing [homes], which is really making it more di cult for your locals to be able to nd a place to live nowadays,” said Debbie Homeier, 2022 president of the FRAR. “Homes that were a ordable before are now a lot higher.” During a Feb. 14 New Braunfels City Council meeting, Easton Smith, a real estate salespersonwith Keller Williams Realty, said there were more homes on themarket for lease than for sale under $500,000, many of which cost more than $2,000 per month. Data from the 2020 American Com- munity Survey conducted by the U.S.
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