So dire is the need for SRO housing that not even bureaucratic demands dissuade residents from lining up. Applicants need to renew their paperwork every 30 days in order to be eligible for the rental subsidies, according to Mike Alvidrez, executive director of Skid Row Housing in Los Angeles.
“If there is a delay in the project, we have to ask them to renew their paperwork two to three times,” Alvidrez says. Staying on top of renewals can be a challenge for this population, he says, but even so, Alvidrez’s Skid Row still has more than enough people to fill every available unit. He estimates that his organization usually has about five fully documented applicants for every unit—a remarkable number given that homeless people are generally tough to keep track of.
RISKS OF URBAN RENEWAL Although homeless residents can be found in every community, demand for SROs is concentrated in urban cores. For that reason, Jane Graf, the president of Mercy Housing California, says that her SRO projects are always located in big cities.
“There is significant demand in the urban areas because (SRO housing) is located right in the urban core, which is very convenient for people who need services and transportation,” she says.
Another plus for urban locations is the building stock. In particular, Graf says, buildings designed in the early 1900s for dockworkers, transient laborers, and immigrants are a favored choice for SRO redevelopment. Her group often pleads with cities not to tear down these historic buildings because they are vital to providing enough SRO projects, she says.
“With urban renewal, there is a movement to stop losing a seriously needed housing type,” Graf says. “We should be renovating them and making sure they are available to the homeless population, because they are a more affordable, entry-level housing choice.”
Some developers say old buildings fit their SRO philosophy of socialization while saving money. “When the bathroom is down the hall, it is easier because the water bills are lower, and people have to come out of their rooms so there are more socializing benefits,” Manning of Central City Concern says.
But other developers maintain that the shared bathroom style is out of fashion, and SRO housing had evolved into an efficiency style to appease funders and residents. “We call them SROs, but they have full bathrooms and microwaves, refrigerators, and two burners,” Falk says. “They are an oven short of being a studio.”
Falk and others say the in-room amenities avoid fights between residents and allow residents a quality of life that comes with being able to shower and cook in privacy.
Plus, efficiencies are what investors demand, Alvidrez says. “Our funding is responding to the belief that a person should have their own private cooking and bathroom facility,” he adds.