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Single mother searches for affordable housing to keep kids in Lawrence schools

This week for our "IN-Lawrence" series, we're taking a closer look at a problem many communities are dealing with right now: affordable housing.

LAWRENCE, Ind — Owning your own home is a dream many pursue, but getting there can be extremely difficult, especially now.

The shortage of affordable and available housing in Indiana has grown over the past few years, and Lawrence is no exception.

The Midwest is typically home to more affordable housing than expensive, crowded coastal areas, but Indiana ranks the lowest among nearby states.

In Indiana, only 39.9% of extremely low income households have access to affordable and available housing, according to a report from Prosperity Indiana. This is under the average in Midwest states, which is 41%. 

One single mother “IN-Lawrence” understands this all too well.

Precious Bennings is doing everything she can to provide for her three kids and give them a bright future.

“The kids nowadays, if you see the kids, they’re shooting, they’re shooting each other, on drugs,” Bennings said. “I want my kids to have an education. I want them to be something in life.”

This has been her inspiration to find a home or apartment in Lawrence over the past three months. She said the education system the city has to offer can help her children succeed.

“I love their schools. I like the education they give the kids, the attention that they give them,” Bennings said.

There’s just one problem: Rental prices for apartments and homes have been on the rise since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The average rent for an apartment in Lawrence is around $1,056, according to RentCafe. The cost typically varies on different factors like location, size and quality.

Credit: WTHR
Bennings scrolls through local rent listings in Lawrence.

Fair housing advocates like Amy Nelson said while many metro area rents around the country have leveled out, the prices haven’t stabilized in the Lawrence area.

“We have such a housing crisis going on in our state,” Nelson said.

Nelson also said the city may have worse prices than others because of out-of-state investors. Nelson said they are coming to Lawrence just to buy homes and flip them into expensive rentals.

A recent study from the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana found that more than 64% of single family rental properties in Lawrence are owned by out-of-state investment companies.

Nelson also mentioned these properties are typically purchased with cash, which squeezes out would-be-first-time home-buyers or low-income families who’d need a mortgage.

“This is not just a city of Indianapolis problem — this is a statewide problem with these companies that have been targeting Indiana for years because they see it as affordable housing options they can purchase quick and easy and very little accountability,” Nelson said.

“It’s beyond frustrating,” Bennings said.

Credit: WTHR
Bennings describes the hardships she faces in trying to find affordable housing.

Despite the hardship and frustration, the single mother is not giving up on her children’s education.

“It’s… it’s depressing, makes you feel like you want to cry every day, but I don’t because I have to stay strong for my kids,” Bennings said.

She is now getting financial help to stay at an Extended Stay hotel, but she said the money is running out.

She is also working overnight at a warehouse to save up and then driving her children to school every morning when she gets back from work.

Bennings said she may have to find a place outside the Lawrence Township School District and then drive her kids back for school every day.

While the price of rent is daunting, the Fair Housing Center is lobbying lawmakers to tax large landlord companies at a higher rate in hopes of a drop in rent prices.

Here is a list of useful resources related to rental and housing assistance:

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