Central Iowa Emergency Rental Assistance Study (CIERAS)
The Central Iowa Emergency Rental Assistance Study (CIERAS) seeks to inform local decision makers regarding the most effective length of time to provide assistance to a low-income household experiencing a crisis in order for that household to regain their economic stability. As a homelessness prevention initiative, the study seeks to utilize scientifically-valid research to improve central Iowa’s public and nonprofit systems in order to keep people stably housed.
This study is led by a team of economists and sociologist at Grinnell College. As a random assigned trial, 552 participants will be randomly assigned to receive either 1, 3, or 6-months of assistance while 120 will be assigned to a control group who do not receive assistance from the study, but can receive any assistance traditionally offered by a nonprofit agency. Participating nonprofit partners include public and private agencies who deliver emergency rental assistance in Dallas, Polk and Warren counties.
Research Design
552 randomly assigned intervention participants
(1, 3, or 6-months of assistance)
120 randomly assigned control group participants
(will receive no assistance from the study)
The study’s Project Manager, housed at Mid-Iowa Health Foundation, will collaborate with community-based organizational partners to implement a community conversations series and produce associated publications to foster education and awareness regarding local affordable and accessible housing needs, homelessness prevention strategies, and economic mobility. This project is funded by a public/private/corporate collaborative and study results and recommendations will be made available to the public in August 2028.
Funding Partners
Using a collective funding model, CIERAS is funded by a public/private/corporate collaborative.
Community Partners
UpLift uses a community-based participatory research approach to its initiatives and prioritizes in collaboration with other community-based organizations when designing and implementing projects to have stronger and more robust data collection on community issues and potential solutions.
Research Findings
Study results will be made available to the public August 2028.
Housing Instability in Iowa
Housing in Iowa
Housing instability is a growing concern for many central Iowans. With housing and utility costs steadily increasing every year, housing is becoming more unaffordable for those that call central Iowa home. According to central Iowa’s 2024 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), 42% of survey responders said that they were ‘always’, ‘usually’, or ‘sometimes’ worried or stressed about paying their rent or mortgage in the past year. When only looking at renters, that percentage jumps to 68% of responders saying they were ‘always’, ‘usually’, or ‘sometimes’ worried or stressed about paying their rent in the past year (Community Health Needs Assessment, 2024).
Eviction
As housing becomes more unaffordable, eviction rates are simultaneously increasing, putting more people at risk for being housing unstable or even homeless. One of the most common reasons someone might be evicted is for non-payment of rent. In 2025, just over 21,000 Iowans had an eviction filed against them which was the second highest number of eviction filings seen in the state of Iowa (Iowa Legal Aid, n.d.).
Homelessness
It’s difficult for many people to find housing that is both affordable and available to rent. In Iowa, there are only 39 affordable and available rental units per 100 extremely low-income households, whose incomes are at or below 30% the area median income (National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2025). This absolute shortage of affordable units pushes low-income families out of the market potentially leading to being evicted or homelessness.
The impacts of the housing market’s lack of affordable and available housing can be seen with Polk County’s increasing homelessness rate. In 2026, the Winter Point-In-Time (PIT) Count showed that around 835 individuals experience homelessness on any given night, which is a 7.2% increase from 2025 (779) (Homeward, 2026). In order to address this issue, The Blueprint to Address Homelessness in Polk County was developed as a strategic plan to convene community partners within the Des Moines metro and rethink how the current homelessness system operates.
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