Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Tompkins County housing officials warn many renters at risk as homelessness prevention expands
Summary
Human Services Coalition briefing to the Tompkins County Housing & Economic Development Committee described high rents, eviction pressure and limited supportive housing; county providers are piloting Medicaid 1115-funded prevention services to avert homelessness.
Liddy Barger, director of housing initiatives at the Human Services Coalition, told the Tompkins County Legislature’s Housing and Economic Development Committee on June 4 that rising rents and limited supportive housing are driving repeated entries into the county’s homeless response system.
"Four out of five people who are currently experiencing homelessness in our continuum of care do not have a supportive housing or other unit to move into," Barger said, summarizing local capacity shortfalls. She said 59 percent of renters in the City of Ithaca are cost-burdened, meaning they pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing.
The presentation placed those figures in context with area median income and fair market rent. Barger said 2025 area median income for a family of four in Tompkins County is $122,100 and used that…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
