Annual Report
Steans Center Community-Based Faculty Fellowship
Exploring Residential Transition Experiences of Individuals Displaced from Single-Room Occupancy Buildings
Molly Brown, Ph.D. Department of Psychology
Single Room Occupancy (SRO) hotels are a vital source of housing to for individuals with limited income or people who face barriers to accessing other housing in the private rental market. Despite policy efforts to preserve SROs as a form of affordable housing through the Single Room Occupancy and Residential Hotel Preservation Ordinance (City of Chicago, 2014), SRO buildings are often sold to for-profit developers, which has led to the displacement of hundreds of residents in Chicago in recent years. This qualitative study employs a participatory action research methodology in collaboration with ONE Northside, an affordable housing advocacy organization, and SRO tenant-researchers to gain a better understanding of the experiences and housing options among individuals who are impacted by SRO closures.
Preliminary Findings
Study participants are eligible to participate if they are 18 years of age or older, English- speaking, and have both lived in and been displaced from an eligible SRO building. Participants are recruited through contact with ONE Northside, who works closely with tenants at-risk of displacement from SROs being sold to developers. To date, 12 participants have engaged in the study.
Preliminary analyses demonstrate that although individuals generally prefer larger housing environments (e.g., 1-bedroom apartments) without shared bathrooms or kitchens, they identify several benefits of SRO housing. For instance, consistent with previous research, displaced SRO tenants view the location of buildings within neighborhoods with social services, amenities, and public transportation are a valued reason for selecting SRO housing (Linhorst, 1991). Further, participants described the benefit of social support cultivated within SROs.
Indeed, many participants who were displaced from an SRO subsequently secured housing at a different SRO. Of note, participants generally reported their subsequent housing was more costly.
A primary aim of the study is to articulate the extent to which displaced SRO tenants receive assistance in their transition to alternative accommodations. Several participants had previous experiences with homelessness and feared their displacement would result in subsequent homelessness. One participant stated of the short amount of time they had to relocate,
..its just basically like one of the things you know was being rushed. You know being it was being forced to move out… I mean I I have never experienced that before in my life and it was like, it was like the most scariest thing because you know like I said you know I, I wasn't sure if I was gonna end up in another homeless situation cause they only gave us like uh they only gave us like uh almost if I remember correctly uh uh two two and half month window to be out out of the building.
When faced with displacement, participants reported receiving little support for relocation, despite the SRO Preservation Ordinance requiring that building owners to have a plan in place to support tenant relocation. One participant described the limitations of the relocation plan in their building,
[The building owner's] relocation plan consisted of, uh, uh, some listings of places where we could, where we could apply to on a bulletin board. That was his relocation plan. And, while it, uh, just barely met the criteria for the SRO ordinance, uh, they, they let him get away with it.
One participant indicated they were satisfied with the relocation services they were provided overall, but they felt the housing options they were presented were limited, “the one thing I didn't like about the transition team, they were only looking to relocate the people in the building to other SROs." Another participant indicated that it takes a great deal of personal initiative to find housing opportunities. Several participants also stated that it was their support services outside of the SRO (e.g., case management) that assisted in their housing transition.
Participants generally felt the City of Chicago does not support maintaining SROs as an affordable housing option. Participants theorized that there was little financial gain to be had from SRO housing. One participant stated, It goes back to the money boot. Excuse me, but you know, it goes back to the money. Uh, ain't no money. Ain't no money in it. You go into SRO, you going to pay what? $4-500 a month, $300 a month? Ain't no money in it. You know?
That's the only thing I can think of really, you know. Ain't no, they ain't making no money off the tenants.
Another participant felt efforts to preserve SROs as affordable fall flat because SRO tenants are “…considered the dregs of society." There is also a perception that the SRO preservation ordinance is insufficient for holding building owners accountable to the rules, “I think it should be mandated that the owners of SROs, uh, comply with certain things. Don't just make them rules, make them laws."
Taken together, displaced SRO tenants identified several benefits of SRO housing.
Despite participants' lack of trust that their plight is taken seriously by the City of Chicago officials, they continued to seek SRO housing following displacement. Though most participants were able to secure alternative housing, displacement led to concerns of housing insecurity and homelessness. Participants' sentiments about the limited relocation support align with ONE Northside's current demands to the City of Chicago Department of Housing to require more robust, tenant-informed relocation plans when SRO buildings are to be sold to luxury developers. Student Engagement
Students in Fieldwork/Internship (PSY-395) engaged in projects supporting ONE Northside throughout the 2019-2020 academic year. In the fall quarter, students generated a comprehensive list of housing, healthcare, and other social services resources throughout Chicago. In winter quarter, the service list was then transferred to a Google Map. The Google Map is intended to assist former SRO tenants displaced to different neighborhoods in locating services in their vicinity. Each location in the Google Map includes a description of the services provided and information on how to access services. In spring quarter, students were offered extra credit for participation in ONE Northside sponsored actions (e.g., protests, virtual events, etc.).
Next Steps
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, data collection was halted and is set to resume in October. Prospective participants will be given an option to conduct interviews via Zoom or in- person with appropriate social distancing and personal protective equipment. Coding and thematic analysis of the qualitative data will continue as new data are collected.
References
City of Chicago. (2014, November 12). City council approves ordinance to preserve affordable single-room occupancy (SRO) housing [Press release]. https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/mayor/Press%20Room/Press%20Releases/2014/November/11.12.14APPSRO.pdf
Linhorst, D. M. (1991). The use of single room occupancy (SRO) housing as a residential alternative for persons with a chronic mental illness. Community Mental Health Journal, 27(2), 135-144.