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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Governor orders flags lowered to half-staff following Sen. Bates' death ... Ash falls on Rim Village as battle with Crater Lake fire continues ... Ready and waiting ... Governor orders flags lowered to half-staff following Sen. Bates' death ... Ash falls on Rim Village as battle with Crater Lake fire continues ... Ready and waiting ... AFFORDABLE HOUSING Family that helps the homeless may lose their home Faced with sale of house they rent, they start drive to raise down payment Comment By Julie Akins For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Julie Akins For the Tidings Posted Aug. 5, 2016 at 5:53 PM By Julie Akins For the Tidings Posted Aug. 5, 2016 at 5:53 PM » RELATED CONTENT • WE to offer meals for homeless weekly • WE hosts monthly community meal • What can 'I' do? Not as much 'we' can • Guest Opinion: Housing crunch hits home » Social News When Jason and Vanessa Martynse Houk moved into their little house on B Street in Ashland's Railroad District six years ago they hoped it could be the place where they brought up their daughters. “We just love the house,” Vanessa Houk said. But fast forward to a couple weeks ago and the house is being sold in September at a price they likely cannot afford, in the neighborhood of $350,000 dollars. “We’re looking into every first-time home buyer program we can find," she said, "but it’s a big price for us as low income.” Their names may ring a bell. The Houk’s are well known for giving their time and resources to people in need in Ashland. They organize a community meal every Friday in Railroad Park on A street which primarily feeds the homeless and hungry. Wherever there is a need for the poor and oppressed, the couple is often seen there trying to bring comfort, preparing their own talking circles and meals, working for Jobs for Justice and other social change groups. So now that they find themselves on the precipice of homelessness themselves, they are asking for help. They have organized a GoFundMe campaign and had roughly $6,000 in the account at last check. They are humbled by the outpouring. “It’s moving and humbling and I get embarrassed," says Jason Houk, "but it’s been a real counter-balance to the negative experiences of the no’s and blocks” of the support they’ve received. Still, the stumbling blocks are on their mind, not just for themselves but the people whom they try to help. “We tell ourselves there are services out there, but the fact is, there isn’t," Jason Houk says. "We need to do something, we can’t talk about it anymore. If we could make one car park, if we could get one developer to make one truly affordable housing project, the need has so outweighed our ability to do anything about it. It’s so shocking and sad.” The Houks described the process of going through the nonprofit organization ACCESS to obtain a list of available low income housing units as discouraging. “You have to get to Medford and wait for a case worker. No one is really available. There’s no clearing house for agencies and you ping from place to place. There’s got to be a better way.” Once they got the list of affordable rentals, they discovered a waiting list so long that even with more than a month to find a place, it wouldn’t be long enough. The Houks say the process has been frustrating, given the fact they have referred people to ACCESS and other nonprofits assuming those people got the help they needed. Now they wonder if that was true. “I had such higher expectations and hope for dealing with them (ACCESS). They get a lot of resources. I think they could be more effective.” ACCESS and governmental agencies such as Housing and Urban Development report an increasing burden on the system making it impossible to handle the need. HUD’s latest figures show Oregon’s homeless population increasing by 9 percent this past year. Twenty-two percent of those homeless are children and families. With the Rogue Valley’s rental vacancy rate of less than 2 percent, the math adds up to few rentals at increasing prices. When the demand outstrips supply, prices go up. Creating affordable housing is on the radar in Ashland but here, too, stumbling blocks arise. State law does not allow for rent control nor did it allow cities to make demands on developers to create affordable housing. The second part of that has changed and there is discussion about allowing cities to create their own rules regarding rent control and affordable housing options, but it hasn’t happened yet. Ashland Mayor John Stromberg refers to the level of homelessness as a result of a lack of available housing, high rents and low wages as a crisis. Those caught in the cycle, he refers to as “domestic refugees.” He says the city of Ashland can do better. He is joined by nearly every candidate currently running for local office. Meantime, the days are counting down for the Houks and the fear of having nowhere to go is mounting. Add to that the irony that they spend their free time and money caring for the homeless and it’s the kind of wakeup call they would rather not have received. “We tell them to do everything we did," explains Jason Houk. "Go to ACCESS, start making calls, but when it’s your situation there’s this cloak of fear that clouds your judgment. It makes you less functional and willing to take risks. I wasn’t expecting that. ... It’s really humbling. It can be frustrating when you see why homeless people take the paths they take but now we know. We weren’t prepared for this kind of dread.” With two daughters at home, aged 10 and 16, Vanessa Houk says she does not want to rip the girls out of school because they are doing well. She says losing their home makes her feel as if she’s letting them down. “As a mother I feel like I failed them," she said. "How are we in a situation where our housing isn’t secure? We have to get rooted back in and secure.” They continue to provide the community meal on Friday in the midst of their own crisis. They say they check their GoFundMe page (www.gofundme.com/2gs6dcs) often to remind them they are not alone. There will be an all day summit on homelessness on Aug. 20 at Southern Oregon University, which will include a silent auction which will benefit the Houk family. The Houks say they recognize this kind of help does not come for most people, so they want to use the situation to shine a light on the problem. They say, however, they also truly need the assistance. Without it they too might become homeless. Still, they say, “We happen to be fortunate.” After more than a month seeking an affordable two-bedroom rental in the ballpark of $900 per month and fundraising in hopes of buying their B Street home, the Houk’s remain hopeful but nervous. Neither of those options have panned out yet. They have found a 700-square foot mobile home they may be able to finance with the money they have. It does not have the wisteria or the history of their current home and it is tiny, but the stability may make the trade-off worth it. “I’m starting to warm to it,” says Vanessa. Email Ashland freelance writer Julie Akins at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ @julieakins. By Julie Akins For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Julie Akins For the Tidings Posted Aug. 5, 2016 at 5:53 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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