'The housing problem in Michigan is unreal': Soo residents struggle with housing access

SAULT STE. MARIE — Inflation is hitting everything, everywhere.

From the prices of eggs going up in grocery stores to utility costs rising, people have been working to find ways to make up for the extra expenses. Housing rates are no exception.

Housing is an important issue for every community, but housing struggles are getting worse for some in Sault Ste. Marie.

Suddenly, due to increased food prices shrinking budgets, more people than ever need help dealing with rising rent costs. Organizations like Yooper Do Gooders, which help support people in need across Northern Michigan, have seen an increase lately in people who need financial help.

"Rent prices are skyrocketing, food prices are skyrocketing, gas prices are skyrocketing," said Dean O'Brien, organizer of Yooper Do Gooders. "The housing problem in Michigan is unreal."

Rent prices have increased in a number of locations in the past year, including in affordable housing units. This is partially due to inflation, which has caused the prices of a lot of things to increase, including food and utilities.

"Housing insecurity is absolutely getting worse," said Sheila Berger, housing administrator of the Community Action Agency. "Landlords have taken apartments which normally cost about $650 in rent and raised prices past $1,000 in some cases. They are no longer fair market rates."

In Sault Ste. Marie specifically, residents also have to deal with a lack of availability, which in turn also leads to higher prices because landlords know demand is higher.

As private renter organizations like Airbnb continue to grow, housing availability dwindles. Through these rental groups, private individuals are able to buy houses and rent them out to tourists and visitors.

"It's happening everywhere and it's happening to all sorts of families. It's single people, it's married people, it's people with children. I've seen families forced to live in tents in the woods — even in the wintertime, even in the Soo," said O'Brien. "Three years since I've been doing this charity work in the Soo, I've noticed every year it's gotten worse."

The lack of availability can be damaging to the city in many ways, not only in contributing to leaving residents homeless, but also by preventing people from moving to the city.

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"If you're not in the market for housing, it's really hard to know how difficult the housing market is right now," said Candy Seward-Farmstead, executive director of Housing Commission. "What we're hearing is just the availability that's out there right now is tight."

The Soo Locks are by far the most iconic part of the city, and has one of the largest economic impacts of any other organization, supporting industries across the country. The New Lock project will help the locks in efficiency and preparedness — but it is a major project, requiring the help of thousands of people over more than 10 years.

The New Lock project has already created hundreds of jobs, and will create hundreds more in the next few years — some of them permanent, some of them temporary. Because of the project, hundreds of people have recently moved to Sault Ste. Marie to work on the locks.

More: Historic Garfield School site will soon become affordable housing

More: Temporary housing to host hundreds of Soo Locks workers

The project has had a huge impact on housing, as some longer term workers began renting apartments and shorter term workers stayed in hotels. This meant less hotel rooms were available during the tourism season.

To help with housing limitations, the Soo Locks partnered with the Southeastern Disaster Relief Services and the Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation in a project to build a temporary housing unit to house hundreds of workers for the next few years. Many workers have moved into the housing units and more rooms will become available, but many workers are still using other housing methods.

Many projects are currently underway to create better, more affordable housing in the area to combat this lack of availability, including the apartment project at Garfield Landing. There are also emergency housing resources such as the new Sault Tribe homeless shelter, the Lodge of Hope.

— Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com

This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Sault residents struggle with housing availability, rising rates