Local & Region
A2 | Saturday, October 15, 2016 | The Vail Daily
are we
HOW
SUPPOSED TO LIVE HERE? ❜
❛
FAMILIES
TAKE URGENT
HOUSING
NEEDS TO
FACEBOOK
By Pam Boyd
[email protected]
EAGLE COUNTY — Tucked in among questions about
potty-training and plumber recommendations, the popular
Vail Moms Facebook page recently featured an urgent appeal for housing from Ariel Graham.
Graham isn’t a single, ski season transient. She is the
married mother of a 4-year-old and a 9-month-old and she
actually grew up in the valley. She moved away to attend
college but she always wanted to return to her hometown.
The trouble is, even though both Graham and her husband
are employed full-time, they are having a very difficult time
making their move work.
Since April, Graham and her husband and two children
have been living in a bedroom at her parents’ home. Every
day Graham scours the Vail Daily classifieds, Craigslist and
other options to try to find a rental for her family. Earlier
this month, she made her Facebook appeal.
The Grahams figure they can afford to pay about $1,300
per month in rent. That’s their definition of “affordable.”
But they have realized that number isn’t realistic and are
looking at second jobs so they can afford up to $1,900 per
month and the estimated $4,000 needed for deposits and
first-and-last month payments.
“There’s nothing out there that’s really affordable,” said
Graham. “We were told the waiting list for affordable housing is four years.”
LOW PAY, HIGH RENT
The Grahams are a living example of the low pay/high
rent ratio that is hitting hard in Eagle County. Add in the
cost of child care and its very hard for young families to
make the numbers work.
“I pay $800 per month for child care and that is insanely
cheap,” said Graham.
When she posted her dilemma on Vail Moms, Graham
said the discussion got heated. A number of people responded that Graham should have known that this valley
was expensive.
“Some people said ‘If you can’t afford it, leave,’” said Graham. “But people don’t realize we are rooted here.”
As for the idea of home ownership, that’s a pipe dream
for the Grahams. “When rent is so high, you don’t have
money for a down payment,” she said.
CHRIS DILLMANN | [email protected]
Ariel Graham hangs out with her husband, Preston, and their children, Caydance and Ryan, in their room, on Thursday
in Gypsum. The Grahams all live in one bedroom, while their extended family lives in other rooms of the house.
NO PLACE TO PARK
Andrea Renee Foster actually owns a home. She just
doesn’t have any place to park it.
For the past three years, Foster and her husband and
three children have resided in a RV that they are still
paying off. Initially, their travel trailer was situated at the
county’s sole RV park in Dotsero, but the family eventually moved to a property in Gypsum where they worked as
caretakers for an older woman. But their long-term RV use
in the town is not allowed, so the Fosters had to move out
of their RV. They are temporarily living in the main house
at the property where their RV is parked. Foster doesn’t
know what she will do about housing.
“There is no other option for us,” she said. “I am working
in this community and I am just trying to put a roof over
my daughters’ heads and have running water.”
The Fosters have applied for a Habitat for Humanity
home and they are awaiting word to see if they qualify. In
2DO
CHRIS DILLMANN | [email protected]
Caydance Graham plays with her dad, Preston, during his
lunch break on Thursday in Gypsum. All four are living in
one room of a house while other family members live in
the other rooms. They did find a house for themselves,
however, and hope to move into it soon.
the meantime, same the Grahams, they search for affordable housing options.
QUESTION 1A
This fall Eagle County voters will decide if a 20-year,
0.3 percent sales tax should be instituted to address this
area’s housing needs. The ballot question spells out that
the purposes of the new sales tax would include providing
OUR PICKS FOR THE
TOP TWO
ACTIVITIES IN
THE VAIL VALLEY
TODAY
1
Check out Man of the Cliff — The eighth annual Man of the Cliff event returns today and Sunday
with events such as ax throw, keg toss, spear throw,
caber toss, hammer toss, archery, speed chop and tugof-war. Registration is $80 per person in advance or
$100 per person at the event (if space is available), and
proceeds benefit First Descents. For more information
and registration, visit www.manofthecliff.com.
and improving the quality, availability and affordability
of housing in Eagle County. The ballot question calls out
down payment assistance, acquisition of affordable workplace housing and public/private partnerships as examples
of what the housing program will finance.
But while the ballot question is aimed at helping people
like the Grahams and the Fosters, that assistance is so
conditional and so far down the road, neither family is
grasping at that straw.
“There has to be a more economical way for people to
live in this valley,” said Foster. “There has to be a way for
people to get their feet underneath them. I am so fed up
with all of it.”
As they continue their respective housing searches, the
Grahams and the Fosters noted that they don’t see themselves as a drain on county resources, but rather an important part of the local economy.
“We are part of this community. People need us and need
our jobs. So if people need us, how are we supposed to live
here?” said Graham.
Graham noted she hasn’t studied ballot question 1A in
depth, but she hopes that valley businesses and officials
recognize the need to address the local workforce housing
shortage.
“I hope the community does come up with some
solutions that are readily available to families,” she said
“There’s got to be a better way. We are just one family of
many hard-working families, just struggling to make it.
This is a huge problem.”
2
Get spooky in Gypsum — The Gypsum Fall Fest
Spooktacular happens from 5 to 8 p.m. today at the
Lundgren Theater in Gypsum. There will be live music,
carnival games and prizes, inflatables, laser tag, a photo
booth, punkin’ chunkin’ and the signature haunted house,
as well as the Gypsum Recreation Center’s Zombie Run 5K
through town. Learn more about the race at www.townof
gypsum.com/events/fall-fest-spooktacular.