We are Brown University students interested in improving access to housing assistance programs in Rhode Island. We tried to map out eligibility criteria for these programs, as available in online resources. It became an impossible task, and what we found surprised us. We’d like to highlight the issues we observed and propose potential solutions.

Rhode Island faces a worsening housing crisis, as rents have skyrocketed and there continues to be a shortage of housing units. A 2022 median renter household income can not afford average rent for a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the state except Burrillville. Rates of tenant evictions, foreclosures, and homelessness have all risen since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic (HousingWorksRI 2023 Housing Fact Book).

Access to housing is important for health and wellbeing; housing instability and homelessness negatively impacts both physical and mental health. Housing is also closely related to education, employment, and overall quality of life. However, state and local governments in Rhode Island have been unable to steer clear of the nationwide housing issues. Government assistance programs are a crucial component to solving the housing crisis.

To break down the process for Rhode Islanders and make housing assistance programs more accessible, we tried to put together a visualization of the eligibility requirements for such programs. Then we realized – it’s just not possible. Which raises the question: How effective can policies be if they become almost impossible to understand?

State and local governments in Rhode Island offer several types of housing-related assistance, including rental, utilities, and home-buying programs. For example, the Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8) provides vouchers that low-income families can use toward their rent. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps pay for heating bills. Applications for these types of programs are often burdensome and time-consuming.

Imagine that you and your spouse both work 40 hours a week and make minimum wage ($14/hour). Your annual household income would be approximately $58,240. You have one child. Your landlord has recently increased your rent, and you can no longer afford it. You want to apply for housing assistance programs so that you can stay in Providence where your jobs are located. You find the following programs on the Providence Housing Authority website:

• Public Housing: Your household qualifies based on income, but this program is closed until further notice.
• Section 8 & Project Based: Your household does not qualify based on income.

Without any viable options in Providence, you try looking for options in other parts of Rhode Island. You come across RI Housing, which manages housing programs for 19 towns. You find the following programs on the Housing RI website:

• Section 8: Based on the 2024 RI income limits, your household would only qualify for Section 8 vouchers in Newport, Portsmouth, Middletown.
• Project Based Voucher Program: No information on eligibility was specified.
• Project Based Rental Assistance: Your household qualifies based on income. However, you will have to apply to each of the projects individually because they manage their own waitlists.

The example scenario above shows one of the biggest barriers to accessing housing assistance programs:

Eligibility requirements are not clearly outlined and defined. Individual programs have different eligibility criteria or similar criteria with different thresholds, which can introduce confusion. Income limits are stated without specifying whether applicants should provide gross or net income, and sometimes not stated at all.

These are only part of the challenge. There are a myriad of eligibility requirements and accompanying documents you need to provide:

Citizenship status, household size, household income, credit score, proof of financial hardship, and more. Many programs require applicants to be a citizen, permanent resident, or qualified alien/eligible noncitizen without clarifying what qualified alien or eligible noncitizen mean. Special circumstances sometimes qualify individuals/families who do not meet every requirement, but these special circumstances are often times not explicitly explained.

We understand that these requirements are in place to confirm that resources are allocated fairly and to prevent fraud. However, they also introduce barriers for those in need. As a result, these barriers reduce take-up rates for public assistance programs (Halling & Baekgaard, 2024). We searched through many web pages and online documents, and were still unsuccessful in finding and understanding every eligibility criteria.

The consequences of such barriers to accessing housing assistance programs can be profoundly debilitating to individuals and families, particularly for those with housing instability and the least amount of financial flexibility. More than a third of Rhode Island households are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing costs, utilities included (2023 Housing Fact Book). For these households, the strains of unaffordable housing can be financially and mentally overwhelming.

With such a large portion of the household income being dedicated to housing costs, there is little room left for necessities such as food, transportation, and healthcare. Households in such situations are left more vulnerable to eviction, homelessness, and other forms of housing insecurity. The inability to access housing assistance programs only exacerbates these issues. For those already struggling to make ends meet, navigating convoluted eligibility criterias can be daunting. As a result, those who would benefit most from the programs are unable to access them. This only contributes to the cycle of instability for Rhode Islanders and their families.

In order to make housing assistance programs more accessible, we created a collection of forms that any Rhode Islander can fill out and get immediate feedback on what programs they are eligible for. The forms give eligibility information on rental, utility, and home-buying assistance programs in a simplified format and provide Rhode Islanders with next steps on how to apply. Although these forms are an important first step towards the challenges with accessibility, they are not the last. Our attempt to create simplified forms revealed the unnecessarily intricate nature of eligibility criterias and underscored the importance of more large-scale reforms across programs.

We understand there are bureaucracies in place that make it hard for reform but we need to do better for our fellow Rhode Islanders. We call on policy makers and the programs themselves to make these three reforms that will positively impact the individuals and families that they serve:

Develop user-friendly eligibility criteria

Define certain words and phrases that are relevant such as household size and qualified alien/eligible noncitizen to help eliminate any ambiguity for individuals considering applying

Centralize eligibility criteria

Direct individuals seeking information about housing assistance programs to one online space.

Be transparent about the state of a program

Provide potential applicants with easily accessible information about if the program is operating, what the deadlines are, and if they are currently accepting applications.

Access to housing assistance programs is not a luxury for many living in Rhode Island but rather, a key to the basic need for housing stability. We urge all Rhode Islanders to join us in advocating for these reforms. By making housing assistance programs more accessible, we can ensure that all Rhode Islanders have access to safe and affordable housing.

Access to housing assistance programs is not a luxury for many living in Rhode Island but rather, a key to the basic need for housing stability. By making housing assistance programs more accessible, we can ensure that all Rhode Islanders have access to safe and affordable housing.

References

Halling, A., & Baekgaard, M. (2024). Administrative Burden in Citizen–State Interactions: A Systematic Literature Review. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 34(2), 180-195.