Homelessness in Idaho — The Other COVID Pandemic BY AMBER DALEY
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croll through social media and you’ll find the hashtag #Idahome, a portmanteau associated with the quintessential Idaho experience and our magazine, often offers images of backyard barbecues, sunsets from the patio of a charmed home in Boise’s Northend. But not everyone living in the Gem State is fortunate enough to have a cell phone to access social media, let alone a patio or home of their own.
As of this printing, Stephanie Day, Executive Director of CATCH, Inc., estimates there are currently over 200 families in Ada County living in a homeless shelter or in their vehicles. CATCH, a Boise-based organization that supports people experiencing homelessness, works with regional government, congregations of faith, local businesses, and other charitable resources to house homeless families. The temperatures are dropping and the suffering will inevitably increase after December 31, when the CDC’s ban on evictions for renters affected by COVID-19 is lifted. Accurate numbers could even be higher given that some people have found temporary solutions by staying with family or friends. And then, there are those like Todd Maxey of Nampa. After pursuing an out-of-state job that failed to materialize as planned, he returned to Idaho in 2017. “I didn't tell anyone I was homeless because I was ashamed,” Maxey explains. “This society makes people feel
During this time, Maxey became one of the invisible statistics that comprise America’s plague of “hidden homelessness.” Social workers say Todd’s story is a common occurrence during periods of economic uncertaintylike right now. GLOBAL PANDEMIC, LOCAL CHALLENGES According to researchers, there are roughly eight million households in the U.S. who pay half or more of their income on rent, meaning they’re already on the verge of losing their homes. A recent Reuters article reports that COVID-19’s economic impacts could push an additional 1.5 million U.S. families to the brink of homelessness. Idaho offers no exceptions. The homeless shelters serving the Treasure Valley are already at capacity, and the waiting list for assisted housing is two to four years long in some categories. Day believes the situation will get worse before it gets better. “I’m extremely worried about the future financial implications from the pandemic,” she says. “We’re already seeing an increase
“The rent eats first.” -Matthew Desmond, Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
Director, Jodie Peterson-Stigers doing temperature check as part of our safety protocol to manage COVID 19. Photo by Interfaith Sanctuary
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terrible if they don't own a house by 25 and aren't a millionaire, so being homeless is the mark of complete failure in the eyes of America.”
and people are more panicked.” Jodi Peterson-Stigers, Executive Director of Interfaith Sanctuary Housing Services, agrees. “I’m uneasy about
