St. Joseph County Housing Consortium

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FY 2025-2029 Five-Year Consolidated Plan City of South Bend, IN NA-30 Disproportionately Greater Need: Discussion - 91.205 (b)(2) Are there any Income categories in which a racial or ethnic group has disproportionately greater need than the needs of that income category as a whole? The racial composition of St.Joseph County households,according to the 2016-2020 American Community Survey data,was 80.9%White; 11.9%African American/Black;0.4%American Indian and Alaska Native; 2.2% Asian; 0.01% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; and 5.4% Hispanic or Latino. African American/Black residents of St.Joseph County are disproportionately affected by all housing problems and cost burdens. This is true of Black/African American residents in the 0%-50% area median income range for housing problems. For severe housing problems, Black/African American residents are disproportionately affected at the 0%-30%and 80%-100%area median income ranges.Hispanic or Latino residents also faced severe housing problems at a disproportionate level when at the 80%-100%area median income range. Generally, there are large groups of Black/African American residents and Hispanic or Latino residents in St. Joseph County. These groups are concentrated in the City of South Bend, with 75.4%of Black/African American households and 69.8% of Hispanic or Latino households living within the City of South Bend, as opposed to other parts of St.Joseph County.Though the disproportionate housing needs are not exclusive to the City of South Bend, they are more prevalent in the City of South Bend than in other parts of St. Joseph County by nature of population concentrations. If they have needs not identified above, what are those needs? When comparing the housing problem numbers to the cost-overburdened numbers, minority groups with large populations in St. Joseph County are most affected by both types of housing problems. 21.8% of African American/Black households are considered severely cost burdened. African American/Black populations also have a disproportionate amount of housing problems and severe housing problems, such as overcrowding or incomplete kitchen or plumbing facilities. 64.9% of this population at 0%-30% area median income has at least one housing problem, and 52.9% of this population at 0%-30% area median income has at least one severe housing problem. Additionally, 70.8% of this population at 30%-50% area median income has at least one housing problem, and 28.0% of this population at 30%-50% area median income has at least one severe housing problem. Consultations with social service providers and housing providers support this theory, as these organizations have described the poor housing conditions in the largely Black/African American neighborhoods. Renting is more common for the residents in the majority Black/African American neighborhoods. Rents in those areas have increased significantly while incomes have not. Thus, there is a need to provide assistance for the Black/African American neighborhoods in St. Joseph County, and by extension, the City of South Bend. The City has created a rental registry and is identifying problem landlords. Hispanic or Latino households are more likely to face severe housing problems such as overcrowding or incomplete kitchen or plumbing facilities and cost overburden, with 23.5% of households at 80%-100% area median income experiencing at least one severe housing problem. OMB Control No:2506-0117(exp.07/31/2025) 78