Byline: Marni Pyke Daily Herald Staff Writer

The American dream is beyond the grasp of many of the people who keep DuPage County running, housing advocates say.

To afford a $900-a-month, two-bedroom apartment - the market rate in DuPage - a minimum-wage earner would need to hold three jobs.

And with median house prices at about $300,000, home ownership really is a dream for families making less than the average income of $67,505, according to 2003 statistics.

On that $300,000 home, it's estimated a mortgage, after a 3 percent down payment, would be $2,552 monthly, officials with the nonprofit DuPage Homeownership Center said. Buyers putting down a 20 percent deposit would pay $2,013.

Those types of payments exclude a wide spectrum of workers - some waitresses and teachers or firefighters and clerical workers - from living here.

"The biggest problem DuPage County is facing is not enough housing stock for the work force," said Bob Wahlgren, director of the Community Housing Association of DuPage.

The nonprofit agency is one of several organizations in the county trying to break through the wall that separates the haves from the have-nots.

The agency owns 327 low-cost rental units at 90 properties, and recently started a home ownership program.

"I think the key is to provide housing at a lower cost. It doesn't have to be new," Wahlgren said.

But as it tries to expand by buying new buildings, the organization must face not-in-my-back-yard attitudes about the poor.

"When you go to the plan commissions," he said, "you get a hue and cry about 'we don't want any more low-income people. We don't want any Section 8.' "

While the economy in DuPage is growing, much of the increase is in low-paying jobs, while affordable housing units aren't keeping pace.

The DuPage Housing Action Coalition estimates a third of renters are using more than 30 percent of their pay on shelter, while about one-quarter of homeowners spend more than 30 percent on their mortgages. That's the most financial experts recommend one spend on housing.

With housing costs absorbing such a huge chunk of people's earnings, it takes only one crisis to start a downward spiral leading to homelessness.

"There are a lot of jobs in DuPage, but they don't pay a living rate," said Jane Tyschenko-Mysliwiec, supervisor at the DuPage Emergency Shelter, which provides temporary lodgings.

"People are living from check to check."

Family problems, a car breaking down, illness and disability, or losing a job are all contributing factors. For example, unemployment in DuPage rose from 3.3 percent in 2000 to 4.9 percent in 2004.

People using homeless prevention services increased from 22,266 in 2001 to 47,868 in 2005.

That statistic also includes a significant number of children.

"A lot of people don't think there's poor people here," Tyschenko-Mysliwiec said.

"When they think of the homeless, they think of bums with shopping carts. It's not what's going on here. Half of them are women and children."

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of individuals living below the poverty line rose from 32,163 in 2000 to 49,827 in 2003. The poverty limit means an income of $9,570 for one person or $19,350 for a family of four.

Clients at the DuPage Emergency Shelter have included highly educated professionals - nurses, engineers and people with doctorate degrees.

Another agency on the frontlines of homelessness is the DuPage PADS, or Public Access to Deliver Shelter program.

The nonprofit Wheaton-based organization uses volunteer churches to provide overnight beds. But it's branching out with a drop-in center, employment counseling and a program to provide permanent housing for 12 "chronically" homeless people.

But as poverty continues to climb in DuPage, especially among the poorest residents, demand for services is outstripping resources.

"There's not enough dollars," PADS Executive Director Carol Simler said. "The need is here and it's growing."

At the federal level, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development subsidizes rental units for low-income people.

But with money from HUD drying up, it's a stagnant time for those looking for federal help.

"Currently, we are not accepting applications for the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) waiting list. We do NOT know when we will begin accepting applications again," a notice on the DuPage Housing Authority's Web site says.

"We've got a couple of thousand people waiting," Executive Director John Day said. "There's been no new names taken since 2002."

COPYRIGHT 2005 Paddock Publications

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