Shelter House: Housing bias kept people in Iowa City encampment

IOWA CITY — Almost all of the 13 people staying in a homeless encampment in Iowa City that caught fire Wednesday recently have had housing applications rejected due to their source of income — a housing voucher, according to a Shelter House, an Iowa City nonprofit.

The Iowa City Fire Department was called to the fire behind 1401 S. Gilbert St. at 1:56 p.m. Wednesday, and was able to extinguish it in about 15 minutes, according to a news release from the city. No injuries were reported and there was no damage to nearby buildings, but some of the property of those living at the encampment was damaged.

The cause of the fire still is under investigation.

Christine Hayes, the Shelter House director of development, said the organization is working to help replace the supplies of those affected. The fire was contained to a small area, but two people lost basically all they owned.

“Losing everything when you’re in an encampment is a huge hurdle, beyond the trauma of the fire itself, to have to start again,” Hayes said.

Several community members have reached out to offer donations, including tents, sleeping bags, tarps and coats and warm clothing.

“Wednesday's fire demonstrates the challenges faced by individuals without housing living in our community. Over the past several months, Shelter House's Street Outreach Specialist — a position created through a partnership with City of Iowa City — has worked with the individuals living in this encampment to secure access to housing and other resources,” a statement from Iowa City police said.

Street Outreach Specialist Sam Brooks has worked with the people living in this encampment over the past several months to secure housing vouchers that could help the residents with the cost of permanent housing. Almost all of the residents now have vouchers — but they still face difficulty finding housing, according to a statement by the nonprofit.

Recent applications for housing have yielded 30 rejections among the 13 people living in the encampment. Six people who previously had lived in the encampment, however, have found housing, according to Hayes.

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Trina Thompson doesn’t live in the encampment that caught fire, but was there Wednesday visiting with friends. She said she’s been on the receiving end of Shelter House’s assistance programs and is now living at the 501 Project, an apartment building run by Shelter House. Thompson said she pays rent through a voucher that she was able to acquire with help from Shelter House.

“It’s kind of scary being out there … but there’s a lot, a lot of resources,” Thompson said.

Shelter House, in its statement, said part of the reason people are having such a hard time finding housing is because of a 2021 state law prohibiting cities from adopting local measures banning landlords from discriminating based on someone’s source of income — meaning property owners are allowed to deny someone housing if their income is through a voucher program.

“The lack of affordable housing in the area for people living in extreme poverty, combined with Iowa’s legally permissible source of income discrimination, make this tragic fire even more devastating: nearly every single individual living in the encampment would be housed had their recent rental applications been approved,” the statement said.

In the past 12 months, Brooks has worked with 191 individuals living outside in the Iowa City area, according to the statement. Of those people, 85 now have housing.

“It’s so imperative that people understand that homelessness is a problem of not having adequate affordable housing at all income levels. … Even with a voucher available that could pay for housing, it’s still such a challenge for folks to get into housing. That shortage yields real human consequences that are really hard to overstate,” Hayes said.

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