Report says low-income Iowans have trouble buying a home

A new report shows Iowans who leave the welfare rolls find it hard to keep a home. Seven percent of Iowans who left welfare in 1999 were homeless soon afterwards, and another 50 percent either had to live with a friend or relative, or weren’t able to pay the rent or mortgage. Amy Brown of the Iowa Coalition for Housing and the Homeless says that’s worse than the national average. Brown says the wages in Iowa are lower and that keeps people from being able to afford housing.Brown says those forced off welfare after they reach their two-year limit can’t find a job that’ll pay enough to cover all their living expenses.Brown says the government should bolster federal programs that help the poor get and keep a home.Brown says Iowans have to earn about 9-dollars-and-10 cents an hour to be able to afford a two-bedroom apartment. The average wage in Iowa is a buck-50 less than that. The average wage is $7.54.