Indicator 54: Housing Problems

 

Why This Is Important

Housing problems can pose serious threats to an individual, family and or child living in
a place that may not be safe or may provide inadequate shelter. The extent of housing
problems is one type of indicator that tells the story of the basic needs that exist in a
community. Severe housing problems can lead to negative short term economic and health consequences and in some cases homelessness.

 

 

Where We Stand

*For 2005, data is being collected differently for this indicator. Before 2005, this question
was asked specifically to those with children in the household under the age of 18. Those
results are still presented in the chart below. In order to provide a more broad based
measure that may tell a story that calls attention to all parts of our communities this question
was added to a bi-annual Tracking Survey © conducted by Critical Insights, a market
research firm in Portland, Maine. This survey targets a more broad population of adult
residents in Maine.

For 2005, about 1-in-6 respondents reported experiencing some kind of housing-related
problem in the past year. However, similar to the previous findings when contacting only
those households with children ages 18 or younger, this survey also found that housing
problems appears to cut along socio-economic lines. Fully 3-in-10 respondents with an
income of less than $25,000 per year reported a housing problem.

 

Data Sources and Context

As mentioned above, for 2005 this indicator has a different data source. These respondents
are not exclusively households with children ages 18 and younger. This indicator was the
results of a purchased item (question) that was part of the Tracking Survey © conducted
by Critical Insights one of their bi-annual survey efforts in November 2005. This public
opinion survey had 601 respondents with only 30% of all respondents having children ages
18 and younger in the household.

Respondents were asked: “In the past year, have you experienced any type of severe
housing problem, such as lack of complete plumbing, unvented room heaters as your
primary heat source, and/or multiple upkeep problems?”