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JLHCA, InP o 6 (Agency Strategy for Eliminating Poverty (continued) The average rental cost for a 3 -bedroom apartment was about $300. It has now grown to about $650.00 to $1037.00 depending on the location and the landlord. Some private landlords can charge an outrageous amount for rent even if the house is substandard because the applicant does not meet the guidelines of Section VIII or income based housing. When you add high rent, high deposits and high utility deposits that can top $1000.00 together, you can understand why affordable housing was ranked number one on the Community Needs Assessment questionnaire. The waiting list for subsidized housing is between 4 to 7 years. In Johnston County alone, the Housing Assistance Payment Program has an extensive waiting list with an averages wait time of 7 years. The layers of restrictions are increasing at an alarming rate. As the renters' market increase, the chances of low-income people finding affordable housing decreases. Anyone coming to the agency seeking emergency assistance must attend.the mandatory Financial Literacy classes. The classes are designed in order to help clients develop budgeting skills that will help them manage their money. As their credit scores rise, the participant will become more attractive to the landlord or mortgage lenders. Many low-income families are no longer looking to purchase a home because it is very expensive and the uncertainty of the job market. When you factor in extremely high utility bills, high tax rates and the burden on the poor gets heavier. The cost of living has increased dramatically in Johnston, Lee and Harnett County with little or no relief in sight. This rise can be attributed in part to the large influx of people moving into our counties from the triangle area. Some landlords have taken advantage of the situation by increasing the cost of rental properties. The average cost of housing has risen so high that our clients cannot find safe, affordable housing. As Wake, Durham and Orange Counties experience a housing explosion, they are moving into our target counties. More and more low-income renters are finding themselves and their families living in expensive but substandard housing that could lead to evictions and an even worse credit score than they had initially. A growing number of first-time applicants are coming into the agency seeking emergency assistance, foreclosure prevention intervention or worse because they have already lost their homes and are homeless. This group of "new economically disadvantaged" persons have found themselves in the rare dilemma ... having to seek emergency assistance. 2. Transportation: The counties that we serve are large in size, but are not equipped with reliable, affordable public transportation. That would explain why transportation was ranked so closely behind affordable housing. Transportation is essential to finding and maintaining employment that can support the rising cost of obtaining/ maintaining affordable housing. Johnston County Area Transit can provide some transportation, but cannot be relied upon for employment or educational activities because it can't assign a structured route. The buses can only go to areas that have been designated as a regular stop and primarily for those individuals who are on Medicaid and/or disabled. There is no evening or weekend service therefore anyone working those schedules would not have access to transportation. It is not a guaranteed source of transportation because its services are needs based and has space constraints. Senior citizens, disabled persons and Medicaid recipients have priority for medical visits. The cost can vary based on the length of the trip and the number of passengers on a given day as the system is ridesharing and fees fluctuate based on these factors. There is no set fee for a specific distance or length of time. HARTS is a Community Transportation program in Harnett County that serves both human service consumers as well as the general public. Operating hours are between 4:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Services are provided through Subscription routes, Dial -A -Ride and Demand -Response service trips. There is no evening or weekend service therefore anyone working those schedules would not have transportation. It is not a guaranteed source of transportation because it is needs based and passengers can be bumped off since senior citizens, disabled persons and Medicaid recipients have priority. The cost of the trip is $3.00 each way in county and $5.00 out of county one-way. County Of Lee Transit System Dash hours are 7 am to 5pm daily and have certain scheduled pickup areas mostly centered on areas frequented by senior citizens. The cost is $2.00 per passengers each way. The cost per week would be $20 weekly for riders. It is cost prohibitive for most low-income people and may be available for job or school schedules in the evening. Most of the routes are in the city limit while most of the industries are outside of the city limits. Fiscal Year 2016-17 Community Services Block Grant Application Page 20 of 33