Six years ago, Sherry Clay returned to a home she hadn’t seen in 25 years. She went in secret, leaving behind a household torn apart by an abusive relationship. The home was part of a Bloomington housing center called the Crestmont Community, a collection of low-income housing units started by the Bloomington Housing Authority. Clay first lived in Crestmont in 1966, when her father, an employee of the Bloomington Parks Department, moved the family in. At that time, Crestmont was a new community offering housing to low income families, those with disabilities, and elderly individuals.

The Clay family moved into to Crestmont because of the high cost of housing. Sherry lived there with her parents and sister for 20 years, until she moved out to start a life of her own. She settled down with a man and lived with him for 25 years. But her situation was far from ideal. Clay had become unhappy with her partner, who she said had become verbally and emotionally abusive. She returned to a life she remembered fondly, back in Bloomington.

“I know I wasn’t happy, but I think what I missed the most was being home,” Clay said.

But when Clay got to Bloomington, she faced the same problem her father had years before. Everywhere she looked, housing was unaffordable. She was working part-time in a community store and needed hip-replacement surgery. After the surgery, Clay couldn’t work, and was on disability with a fixed income. “I knew once I had a permanent income, this was the place that I could afford to live,” Clay said.

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Clay’s position is an all-too-common one for Bloomington residents. Bloomington is the most expensive city in Indiana for housing costs, according to a report from 24/7 Wall Street. The cost of housing alone is not the only problem, as the 2010 Census Bureau reported that almost 40% of Bloomington residents live in poverty. This leaves a high proportion of residents who cannot afford standard housing in the city. Rental costs have increased every year since 2008, so the strain on low income residents is only getting worse.

Although many Bloomingtonians struggle with the burden of housing costs, groups like the Bloomington Housing Authority (BHA) and South Central Indiana Housing Opportunities (SCIHO) aim to relieve that burden. SCIHO is a nonprofit started in 2015 in conjunction with
(BHA) to ease the burden of the wage-to-cost gap.

The non-profit provides grants and fixed-income housing to individuals determined to be cost burdened. Cost burdened residents are those who spend more than 30% of their income on housing.

“Sometimes people will end up paying 50% of their income towards housing, and that’s considered cost-burdened,” said Deborah Myerson, Executive Director of SCIHO.

A toxic combination of slow wage growth and skyrocketing rents has put housing out of reach for a greater number of people. #housingforall https://t.co/XtE7J7JVjF

— South Central Indiana Housing Opportunities (@SCIHOHousing) November 21, 2018

However, Bloomington’s housing aid groups are making a difference for low-income residents. SCIHO is currently building an 8 unit subsidized housing center at the upcoming Switchyard Park. Including the Crestmont Community, BHA has 312 affordable housing units they provide for low to moderate-income families.

These groups focus not only on providing a place to live, but a community along with it. Crestmont has a community center with adult education classes on weekdays, free meal days, and a library.

Sherry Clay is one of the driving forces behind the community focus of Crestmont, and it led to her mayoral appointment to the Bloomington Housing Authority Board. Last year, she planned several events to bring Crestmont together, like a monthly Spaghetti Dinner. She got the idea from her mother, who offered spaghetti to her neighbors in the same community 50 years ago.

The price of housing in Bloomington is a heavy weight for low-income residents. With the high rate of poverty, this is a very common problem. While it may be overlooked by some, passionate individuals like Sherry Clay and Deborah Myerson look to make a difference. This difference comes in the form of an opportunity, and a community that goes with it.