Parents who received money meant to support their newborns are being wrongly charged higher rent because of it, according to a group of housing advocates.
The Housing Advocacy Collective (HAC) discovered the issue after mothers it assists reported being required to pay more for their subsidized housing. The mothers said property managers cited Rx Kids funding as the reason.
Rx Kids is a program that provides new and expectant mothers with cash “prescriptions” to help them through the first year of their child’s life. Now in its second year, the program gives enrollees $1,500 during pregnancy and $500 per month for the baby’s first year.
According to HAC — a coalition made up of representatives from Cradle Kalamazoo, the YWCA, the NAACP, and county and city commissioners — mothers living at Interfaith Homes, Fox Ridge, and Hilltop have been affected. Fox Ridge and Hilltop are both managed by the same company, Integrated Management Services.
The issue stems from how the payments are classified. When treated as income, tenants’ rents increase because they are required to pay a certain percentage of their income. However, the temporary funds are legally considered a gift and should not be counted toward income.
HAC members raised the concern with County Commissioner Tami Rey, who told them she has spoken with Alyssa Stewart of the Kalamazoo Community Foundation to address the issue at Interfaith Homes, requiring refunds and processing changes to prevent it from happening again. She added that Kalamazoo Mayor David Anderson and Stewart are working to resolve the issue at other properties.
“I will be getting a letter from MAM (Multifamily Asset Management) for Fox Ridge,” Stewart said, according to Rey. “MAM is the performance-based contact administrator for HUD project-based contacts. Hilltop is on the outreach list, too. I have alerted HRI (Housing Resources Inc.), CoC (Kalamazoo County Continuum of Care), County Housing Director, etc., so everyone is aware this shouldn’t be counted and is on the lookout if any other issues pop up.”
Chris Shepard, a housing agent for Pine Grove Housing Service, which operates as the local public housing agency, said that while the Rx Kids funds should be recorded in the system, funds must be excluded from the tenants’ total income amount, so as not to affect tenants’ rent calculations.
Parents receiving Rx Kids funds are invited to attend ongoing information sessions to help them navigate the system and advocate for themselves if they are incorrectly charged. Sessions are held on the first and third Monday of each month at Cradle Kalamazoo’s downtown office.
This story is part of a collaboration between NowKalamazoo and WMUK-FM exploring Kalamazoo County’s housing crisis. It originally appeared in the NowKalamazoo March 25 newsletter.
