CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – On Sunday, a Cedar Rapids nonprofit organization hosted a new event aimed at highlighting housing needs in the community.

Waypoint held its first ever “Hike for Housing” event at Mount Trashmore. Organizers said the event raised money for the nonprofit, but it was primarily about awareness.

“I don’t think people really think that there are that many people who are in housing difficulties or on the verge of being in housing difficulties,” said Jaye Kennedy, CEO of Waypoint. “We just want to bring attention to the fact that there is a need.”

According to Kennedy and others at Waypoint, this need not only exists in Cedar Rapids, but it has grown significantly in recent years.

“In the last five years alone, the number of people we serve has increased by 10,000 people. So, over 15,000 people a year just in housing services,” said Jameson Reineke, events and marketing coordinator at Waypoint.

That 15,000 number includes people using Waypoint services to find housing as well as people working to stay in their homes.

According to a 2019 report from Willis Dady Homeless Services and Linn County, the eviction rate in Linn County is the second highest in the state. The report adds that in 2016 alone, landlords in the county filed 1,627 hundred separate eviction actions.

“Some people just need help, maybe to pay their water bill so they can stay in their apartment before they get evicted,” Reineke said.

“We’d just like to go bankrupt because there’s no problem, no one needs help, but that’s not going to happen,” Kennedy said. “Luckily, we have support from events like this and our community, and we can provide help to people who need it.”

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