SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO AM) The affordable housing system in Sioux Falls is "programs rich but systems poor", according to a new study.
The Affordable Housing Needs Assessment 2016 for the newly formed coalition, Sioux Falls Thrive, found that the city's affordable housing universe contains numerous organizations that use the limited resources, often leading to duplication and inefficiency. The group calls for better coordination. The coalition's Candy Hanson says the goal is untangling the web or an alignment job.
"We are going to try to put those programs into alignment...they way you go and have your car aligned when you have the wheels balanced or new tires put on," Hanson says.
Some of the statistics in the study by Augustana University were startling, says Hanson. For example, the study found that since 2010, the number of Sioux Falls children in poverty increased 48 percent..
14 percent of households in Sioux Falls are below the official poverty line - and an amazing statistic - a staggering 72 percent of those families in poverty are headed by single mothers.