SARPY COUNTY, Neb. (KMTV) – Reporter Greta Goede sat down with seniors facing evictions, people experiencing homelessness, and local organizations to talk about the rise in homelessness the Omaha metro is seeing.
- Seniors facing homelessness and evictions continue to rise in Sarpy County.
- The Omaha metro has the fastest growing rate of homelessness.
- Local organizations say something needs to be done.
'I don't know where I am going or what I am going to do': Seniors facing homelessness and evictions continue to rise in Sarpy County
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Cindy Lopez spends her free days with her grandchildren.
"They are the love of my life,they are the ones that keep me going,” Lopez said.
Calling them every day after school and taking care of them when her daughter needs help.
“I try to do the best I can and do what I am able to do for them,” she said.
Lately, however, that has become nearly impossible for Lopez.
Reporter Greta Goede met Lopez the day she was getting evicted from her senior living facility.
The rent was raised to an amount she just couldn't afford.
As she packed her belongings, she feared what was to come.
“I’m very afraid I’m going to become homeless, and I won't have nowhere to go,” Lopez said. “Those thoughts every day now, it could be any minute.”
A week later KMTV spoke with Lopez again, in a hotel room.
She’s staying there because she can't find a new home that she can afford.
“It’s really stressful, it's really frustrating on me. I have been through a lot of emotions, but I try to keep my head up, try to do the best I can,” Lopez said.
Lopez is not alone.
Data shows one-third of homeless individuals in Sarpy County are seniors.
And through months of research, KMTV uncovered that evictions in Sarpy County have risen from an average of 15 a week to 25.
According to Myria Ming with United Way, one-third of the calls they receive are from seniors looking for help with rent and utility bills.
“We have found that they are kind of being priced out, they have a fixed income, so if something increases whether it is the actually rent itself or other amenities or needs for the apartment it affects their ability to be able to afford the housing,” Ming said.
When you look at all the calls coming into United Way's 211 helpline, overall housing and utility needs are the top two reasons people ask for help.
“We have been seeing a rise in calls from both individuals and families who are finding it more and more difficult to pay for housing,” Ming said.
On the other end of the line are people a lot like Lopez, trying to find a place they can afford before they are forced out of the place they are in.
“I don't know where I am going or what I am going to do. I have no idea,” Lopez said.
But seniors facing homelessness and evictions in the county becoming a growing problem is just one part of a bigger issue: homelessness as a whole in the Omaha metro rising more than any other US city.
'You would pay attention if it someone in your family': Homelessness in the Omaha Metro rising faster than any US city
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KMTV has reported on senior homelessness and the rapidly rising number of evictions in Sarpy County.
But those numbers are part of a larger story unfolding in our neighborhoods as homelessness spikes for people of all ages.
People like Angela Kidder.
“I don't want to be here another winter, I want my own home,” Kidder said as she sat outside her motel room.
She lost her home in the last year and since October she’s been in a motel, trying to find a place she can afford, but she told KMTV she can't stretch her dollars far enough to pay for an apartment.
“The rent here is 99% of my check,” she said.
Kidder’s situation is something a growing number of people in the metro are experiencing.
Rent in the county has increased by 20% since 2019, according to Lift Up Sarpy County.
New research has also revealed that the Omaha metro has the fastest-growing rate of homelessness in America.
It does have a smaller homeless population per capita compared to other cities, however, no other cities are seeing as rapid an increase as ours.
No age group is immune.
“We were working with a client at a hotel here in Bellevue and watched thirteen kids getting on the bus that were living in a hotel, why are they living in a hotel, because they either have something on their record, their criminal record, or financial credit reporter or their in this transition that they need to leave their house for some reason and affordable housing hasn’t been an option,” Tanya Gifford, executive director of Lift Up Sarpy County said.
So many people are living in hotels here in Bellevue that school buses now regularly stop at some to pick up passengers.
According to Gifford, most of her clients are families who have jobs and kids in school.
They just aren't paid enough to afford the housing that the metro has to offer.
"These are people that are at jobs every day that are utilizing resources, whether that’s couch surfing or using a local gym to take a shower at so you can go to work and go to school without being on the radar,” Gifford said.
As for Kidder, she’s still searching for a home.
She hopes her story brings attention to what she and others in the Omaha metro are facing.
"You would pay attention if it was someone in your family,” Kidder said.
According to local organizations, this rise is concerning. Reporter Greta Goede sat down with organization leaders in Sarpy County and Omaha about what needs to happen in the future to address this growing issue.
'People are reaching their breaking point': Future solutions to the growing numbers
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Nonprofits and some government groups are sounding the alarm over the rise in evictions and homelessness in the metro.
Myria Ming with united way is concerned by data that shows finding and paying for housing is one of the top challenges their clients face.
"People are reaching their breaking point, and they are going from a concern to a crisis, and it is not just seasonal, it is sustained,” Ming said.
United way's 211 Call Center is continuing to expand and work with neighbors to keep up with need but to keep up with the call volume, even the helpers are now in need of donations and volunteers.
In Sarpy County the problem is big, growing, but still mostly unseen.
There is not a homeless shelter in Sarpy County and organizations like Lift Up Sarpy often pay bills for families during transition periods, but according to Executive Director Tanya Gifford, this isn't sustainable given the county's rapid growth.
“We do need a shelter to address the problems we do have now so that we can get ahead of what challenges to come,” Gifford said. “Because as we continue to grow and growth is great, it is also going to create more family situations."
Along with a homeless shelter, according to Dave Gifford with All Seasons Foundation the Omaha metro community needs to raise awareness of homelessness and start working together.
“I think if we start looking at our neighbors again and started interacting and working together, I think there’s a lot of times where we can help each other out and prevent some of this,” he said.
Small non-profits that help around Sarpy County don't have unlimited resources and something needs to be done soon, according to Gifford.
Organizations told KMTV that the growth that Omaha and Sarpy County have experienced has been great, but with this growth this issue will just continue to rise.
Organizations are hopeful that if the community continues to work together and address these issues, they will start to find solutions to the problem.
