Almost everyone agrees there is an affordable housing crisis across the United States. Late last week, the Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC) released a new report, Priced Out: The Housing Crisis for People with Disabilities. The accompanying website provides a searchable index regarding the lack of affordable housing in your metropolitan area.

Of course, I searched Indiana, the state in which I reside. TAC reveals that over 90,000 people in Indiana rely on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) as their sole source of income. In 2016, that was a mere $733 each. However, the average one-bedroom apartment in Indiana costs $620 per month. That leaves SSI recipients with only 15% of their income for other necessities, including food and transportation. In my metropolitan area, Indianapolis-Carmel, the results are even more troubling. A one-bedroom apartment would cost a recipient of SSI a whopping 94% of their monthly income.

Clearly, the housing situation is untenable for SSI recipients without in-kind support from family and friends. The report even posits that the lack of affordable housing may be part of the reason why some may people with disabilities live in institutional settings. Ironically, these settings, such as nursing homes, are far more expensive to taxpayers, at a rate of over $500 per day.