Housing in Natrona County doesn't add up.
Findings from 81 residents with lived experience, 52 community partners, and years of public housing data, commissioned by the Natrona Collective Health Trust to build an independent, evidence-based foundation for its housing strategy.
The Trust wanted facts, not assumptions.
Housing is one of Natrona County's biggest unmet needs. To look at it with fresh eyes, the Trust asked the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH), a national leader in supportive housing strategy, for an independent, outside assessment, rather than relying on its own perspective alone. This study builds a fact-based picture of housing conditions across the community, shaped directly by residents and local partners, so the Trust can turn what it learns into clear next steps for its strategic plan.
Costs outpace incomes across every housing type.
Housing costs keep climbing while wages stay flat, pricing out the people who have the least room to absorb a rent increase.
"The shortage of affordable and supportive housing in Natrona County leads to poorer physical and mental health, increased financial stress, and barriers to accessing care and community support. People on fixed incomes often have to settle for subpar units or locations with limited transportation and services."
Survey respondent with lived experience"...majority of income going to rent...nothing left for the extras like food, healthcare, recreation, transportation..."
Community-wide survey respondentBarriers stack up long before anyone finds a stable place to live.
Structural, financial, and systemic obstacles block residents at every step, from applying for an apartment to walking into a shelter.
Barriers to housing
- Past evictions
- Justice system involvement
- Application fees
- Lack of landlords who accept vouchers
- Security deposits
- Poor credit
Barriers to shelter
- Substance use and sobriety requirements
- Having a pet
- Program and service requirements
"Reduce the number of hoops people have to jump through to get a roof over their heads."
Survey respondent with lived experienceStigma compounds every other challenge.
Stigma compounds every challenge
Stigma and misinformation about homelessness show up across both surveys and community conversations. It deepens individual hardship and blocks community-level action.
"Not in my backyard" opposition
Opposition to new housing development already exists in Natrona County, sometimes called NIMBYism ("not in my backyard"). Respondents named it directly as a barrier to progress.
Lived voices are being left out
People with lived experience want to be asked for their perspective, and want to see action tied to what they say. Being heard matters as much as the services themselves.
"Stigma toward those experiencing homelessness create additional hurdles."
Community-wide survey respondent"Just because we don't have access to the same necessities you do, it doesn't make us gross, mooches, or worthless. Just different struggles. Please know that most of us are battling things we will never tell anyone."
Survey respondent with lived experienceServices exist. Finding them is the hard part.
Individualized services
22% of lived experience respondents and 26% of community-wide respondents named expanding social services, like case management, as the top priority for providers and funders.
Variety of services
Services exist in Natrona County, but many people don't know how to access them. Residents describe the system as confusing and hard to navigate. It's a navigation gap, not a service gap.
From 64 open-ended answers to "what works well?" in the lived experience survey, sized by how often each was named
"Expand and improve social services offered to tenants, like case management or behavioral health services."
Survey respondent with lived experience"Financial help is always great, but we need more hands-on help."
Survey respondent with lived experienceCollaboration is already Natrona County's strength.
Strong partnership models
Schools, shelters, health systems, legal agencies, and community organizations already work across sectors, through models like the Situation Table and school-system partnerships with Seton House and the Mission.
Cross-sector work
The Plans to Safe Care Coalition connects these partners around shared cases and shared solutions.
"Personally, I think we have too many partners duplicating efforts, and the Collective has proven itself again and again to be thoughtful, efficient, and supportive to the issues of the unhoused."
Community-wide survey respondent"We can see individuals and families on probation and parole struggle with finding affordable housing. Forced to live in places that are not ideal for recovery, are not safe for children, or just stuck living at the rescue mission or on the streets."
Survey respondentSix doorways, not six directives.
The findings point to six areas where community action and partnership may create meaningful change. These are not recommendations. They are doorways for exploration and collective brainstorming.
Center lived experience
There is an opportunity for the community to more intentionally bring the voices of those with lived experience of housing instability into the decisions and systems that affect them.
Expand affordable and supportive housing
There is an opportunity to grow the availability of affordable, low-barrier, and supportive housing options through creative investment and development strategies.
Help remove barriers to access and stability
There is an opportunity to reduce the structural, financial, and policy-level barriers that prevent people from obtaining and maintaining stable housing.
Build local development capacity
There is an opportunity to strengthen the local knowledge, relationships, and capacity needed to grow and sustain housing development across the community.
Connect people to a full spectrum of services
There is an opportunity to build infrastructure that supports people across the full continuum of housing need, from prevention through long-term stability.
Shift the narrative around homelessness
There is an opportunity for the broader community to actively reshape how homelessness and housing instability are understood, discussed, and responded to.
This is the summary. The full report has more.
Full survey results, methodology, and the complete analysis behind these findings are all in the report and the community presentation slides linked below.