Prosperity Indiana Thanks Senator Young for Supporting Hoosiers' Housing Stability through Newly Reintroduced Legislation
Senator Young receives letter signed by Prosperity Indiana partners encouraging him to reintroduce the Eviction Crisis Act and Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act.
INDIANAPOLIS – Prosperity Indiana thanks Senator Todd Young for taking action to address Indiana's housing affordability crisis by reintroducing the Eviction Crisis Act and the Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act. Prosperity Indiana encourages Hoosiers to reach out to thank Senator Young for standing with Hoosiers who believe stable housing is an essential foundation for better futures and strong communities and urge other members of Indiana's Congressional delegation to speedily pass both bills.
Both the Eviction Crisis Act and the Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act are top priorities of Prosperity Indiana's statewide community economic development network, the Hoosier Housing Needs Coalition, and national partners such as the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Prosperity Indiana and partners have steadfastly supported Senator Young's efforts to advance this legislation, including through a letter signed by 75 Hoosier organizations encouraging the bills' reintroduction.
The Eviction Crisis Act, reintroduced on September 24, would reduce preventable evictions by supporting prevention and diversion programs, preventing inaccurate information on tenant screening reports, and improving data collection and analysis on evictions at the national level. Indiana has one of the highest eviction rates in the country and has seen over 71,000 evictions filed over the last 12 months, nearly one eviction for every 10 Hoosier renter households. Among other promising provisions, the legislation includes the creation of an Emergency Assistance Program to test, evaluate, and expand proven interventions to help low-income households facing housing instability due to an unexpected economic shock.
“On the receiving end of any eviction notice is a household facing a crisis, one that threatens to destabilize them physically, emotionally, and financially," said Aspen Clemons, Executive Director of Prosperity Indiana. "We know that eviction can be a very short and narrow road to homelessness. We are grateful to see the Eviction Crisis Act back under consideration in the Senate as the data tells us that it is as necessary now as it was five years ago."
The Family Stability and Economic Vouchers Act, reintroduced on September 16, would create an additional 250,000 housing vouchers specifically designed for low-income families with young children to expand their access to well-resourced neighborhoods with high-performing schools, strong job prospects, and other opportunities. This legislation would significantly reduce homelessness among families with young children and substantially decrease the number of children growing up in areas of concentrated poverty.
Indiana currently has a profound deficit of homes that are affordable to these residents, requiring an additional 134,000 units of deeply affordable housing to meet the state’s needs. One in 4 Hoosiers, or 211,000, qualifies as extremely low-income, earning 30% or less than the state’s area median income (AMI). The housing cost burden for these residents is severe, with 74% spending more than half of their income to stay housed. Half of the state’s extremely low-income renters are seniors or people with a disability. An additional third are in the workforce, but the majority of Indiana’s most common occupations do not guarantee earnings sufficient to secure a modest 2-bedroom apartment, which would require reliable 40-hour weeks at a wage of $24.13 per hour.
“Prosperity Indiana applauds Senator Young and Senator Van Hollen for reintroducing the Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act,” said Clemons. “If passed into law, this legislation would help to address Indiana’s housing affordability crisis. Indiana is tied for the lowest rate of housing supply in the Midwestwhen it comes to our lowest-income residents. Too many Hoosiers, even if they’re working full-time,are oneunexpected expense away from housing insecurity and homelessness. This legislation is an important step to providing housing and economic opportunity for all Hoosier and American families.”
These bills will not help Hoosiers unless they are passed by Congress and made law by the time that the 119th Congress ends on January 3, 2027. If that deadline passes, each piece of legislation would have to be reintroduced again, and the process would start over. To capitalize on the momentum of these recent reintroductions, Prosperity Indiana encourages Hoosiers to contact their Representatives and Senators urge them to speedily pass both bills when Congress reconvenes following November's midterm elections.
