Gender Equity advocates ARE housing advocates. Fair access to safe, accessible, and affordable housing in integrated neighborhoods is vital to the wellbeing of women and girls. Housing impacts health, education, food security, employment, and access to public programs that help families with low incomes meet their basic needs. Women head 75 percent of households served […]
“Older adult renters are more likely to spend a large share of their income on rent than the population as a whole, and these rental cost burdens place them at increased risk of housing instability and homelessness. Due to discrimination and higher rates of poverty, Black and Latinx older renters are more likely than white […]
Decades of structural racism have created tremendous racial disparities in housing, and that legacy continues to shape the present landscape. Racial disparities in housing manifest in several ways: Housing Affordability We know that people of color are more likely than white households to be extremely low-income renters and that people of color disproportionately struggle to […]
Research is increasingly clear that stable, affordable housing is a critical driver of positive outcomes in many areas of life, but such housing is much less assured for the LGBTQ community. Despite well-documented and consistent reports of discrimination against LGBTQ people in housing rentals and purchases, in the majority of states there are no explicit […]
Domestic violence can cause housing instability and homelessness for women and their children. “Victims of domestic violence struggle to find permanent housing after fleeing abusive relationships. Many have left in the middle of the night with nothing but the clothes on their backs, and now must entirely rebuild their lives. As long-term housing options […]
To Solve the Climate Crisis, We Must Solve the Housing Crisis “The relationship between housing and transportation emissions is not complicated…By making housing shockingly expensive near jobs and transit, cities force low-income and working-class people to live far away from where they work…People who are priced out move further away, resulting in sprawl that covers […]
PEOPLE with disabilities ARE OFTEN “priced out” of sTABLE, AFFORDABLE, ACCESSIBLE housing “Nationally, the average rent for a modest one-bedroom rental unit was $861, equal to 113% of the national average monthly income of a one-person Supplemental Security Income (SSI) household. This finding confirms that in 2016 it was virtually impossible for a single adult […]
“Families are borrowing from already-limited food budgets to keep a roof over their heads” Quoted from Children’s HealthWatch, Hunger and Affordable Housing “Severely cost-burdened renters are 23 percent more likely than those with less severe burdens to face difficulty purchasing food (Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, 2017). Conversely, NewYork City families with affordable […]
AMERICA IS EXPERIENCING A HOUSING AFFORDABILITY CRISIS “In no state, metropolitan area, or county in the U.S. can a worker earning the federal or prevailing state or local minimum wage afford a two-bedroom rental home at fair market rent by working a standard 40-hour work week.” (NLIHC, 2021) The 2021 national Housing Wage is $24.90 […]
Education advocates ARE housing advocates. Educators know that student achievement is maximized when students can go home to stable, affordable housing. Stable, Affordable Housing Drives Stronger Student Outcomes. “Low-income children in affordable housing score better on cognitive development tests than those in unaffordable housing (Newman & Holupka, 2015). Researchers suggest that is partly because parents […]
Health care advocates ARE housing advocates. Quality affordable housing can be a “vaccine” which prevents long-term health problems and promotes healthy, productive lives. We all want a good, affordable home in a strong neighborhood. Good housing is good health. But when a family’s housing situation is unaffordable and unstable, chances to lead a healthy life […]
Racial Equity advocates ARE housing advocates. Ending housing discrimination is the “unfinished business” of civil rights. Racial inequities are deeply rooted in housing segregation. As Sherrilyn Infill, President of the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund, said: “Housing discrimination is the unfinished business of civil rights. It goes right to the heart of our […]
Affordable housing enables moving to opportunity, which improves long-term life outcomes Economic mobility and anti-poverty advocates ARE housing advocates. Safe, affordable housing enables low-income people to climb up the income ladder and achieve the American Dream. A landmark study by Harvard economist Raj Chetty demonstrates the enormous positive impact that affordable housing can have on […]
Housing investments spark economic stimulus and job creation Economic productivity advocates ARE housing advocates. Investments in affordable housing are a proven catalyst for economic growth, job creation, and development. According to a literature review by The Center for Housing Policy, the creation of affordable housing increases employment (direct jobs such as construction and indirect jobs […]
Access to affordable housing increases stability for vulnerable households and helps avert homelessness. Significant bodies of research show that rental assistance decreases the likelihood that low-income households falls into homelessness. “Extensive research demonstrates that housing subsidies solve homelessness for the majority of families…The continuing crisis in affordable housing has led to a situation in which all […]
Criminal justice reformers ARE housing advocates. Individuals transitioning out of the criminal justice system need a good place to call home so that they can reconnect with society and rebuild their lives. Every year, over 600,000 people return to their communities from prison and face myriad challenges – primarily, profound housing insecurity (Prison Policy Initiative, […]
The affordable housing need for veterans is large Veterans advocates ARE housing advocates. After having served our country bravely, veterans need access to good affordable housing so that they can thrive in the very neighborhoods they swore to defend. “On a single night in January 2012, 62,619 veterans were homeless in the United States, representing […]