Housing Survey Issued


By MANDY LOCKE


The Island Affordable Housing Fund (IAHF) will put a face to
the Island housing crisis this summer through an extensive
information gathering effort. Islanders will notice miniature
yellow houses stationed across Martha's Vineyard to distribute
and gather responses from residents caught in the summer shuffle
of the housing crisis.


The private nonprofit group launched the project this week
with distribution of the Vineyard Rental Survey in today's
Gazette. The goal is to gather input from as many year-round
renters as possible to guage the depth of the housing problem
accurately. Surveys also are attached to miniature yellow houses
scattered across the community. Volunteers will distribute
surveys to Island businesses that employ year-round renters.
IAFH even translated the survey into Portuguese to gather data
from the Brazilian population as well.


"We can guess the problem's depth. There are few people who
don't know someone who's left. We know anecdotally what's going
on," said Susan Spence, acting director of the Island Affordable
Housing Fund.


"The problem is not a mystery any longer. We now need to
substantiate what everyone already knows. We need to steer our
efforts and must uncover subtleties to do so," said John Abrams,
chairman of IAHF.


Ms. Spence and the IAHF realize that efforts rely largely on
fundraising, and effective fundraising depends upon accurate
information.


"They want to look at the bottom line," she said, referring
to business owners and town officials.


Ms. Spence and Mr. Abrams watch the affordable housing
problem loom out of control with each passing year.


"Every six months that go by, the gap widens. Some of the
most interesting people are leaving the Island. They want to
own, and they can't do it here," she said.


The high profits of renting seasonally pull many homeowners
out of the year-round pool. Added to that, many longtime Island
residents have cashed out and sold their homes to people who no
longer rent rooms or apartments, Ms. Spence said.


"It's not just about seasonal workers," Ms. Spence
emphasized.


Indeed, the problem affects teachers, carpenters and
fishermen — people who hold this community together before and
after the summer rush.


"The Island's housing poor includes the middle class," Mr.
Abrams said.


The survey asks renters about income, family size, town,
length of time on the Island and rent prices paid in summer and
off-season. While the government solicited similar information
in Census 2000, detailed information from the Census will not be
available until the summer of 2002.


Another problem with census data, Ms. Spence said, is the
temptation to underreport one's income.


"The Island has a lot of cash flow. People tend to relate
the census to other areas of government, such as the IRS," she
said.


Given the anonymity of the survey, people can comfortably
provide accurate information.


"He likes the idea of having an impact," Ms. Spence said.
Preliminary results will be ready in July for fundraising
purposes, with a more complete study available in October. Then
the entire Island must swing into action to address the problem,
using recommendations from the study.


"It's the responsibility of everyone who lives, works and
governs on Martha's Vineyard," Mr. Abrams said.


Certainly the solution will be just as complicated as the
problem.


"It's not just about bricks and mortar," Ms. Spence said.
Mr. Abrams recognized that progress has been made in the
last few years. And he cautiously applauds these strides. But he
added, "It's not a time to celebrate small successes of the last
few years. We need to work for the larger successes to come."