In the Center for Housing Policy's mission statement, our first goal is to expand awareness of the nation's housing needs. Along with our policy affiliate National Housing Conference, we refer to this part of our work as elevating housing to a top-tier national issue.
Housing became a top-tier issue for me while I was
working as a landlord-tenant counselor. The stories I heard on the hotline
showed me clearly that housing challenges undermine a household’s opportunities
for success. Some stories, especially those featuring rats in places you don’t
want to imagine, are permanently etched into my memory and serve as a balance if
anyone claims that housing quality isn’t a serious problem. The constant stream of calls about nonpayment
of rent makes me see more than just numbers in affordability reports like Paycheck
to Paycheck or Housing Landscape.
And the fear in people’s voices as they contemplated an involuntary move adds
weight to research on the detrimental effects of housing instability for individual
health and children’s
wellbeing.
And this was before
the mortgage crisis.
Restoring a well-functioning housing market and ensuring
that all Americans have access to safe, decent, and affordable housing should
be among our top national priorities (see this blog’s recent post on the 2012
presidential election).
We all have a story about how we became housers. Let’s tell
these stories. It’s time to put housing back on the agenda and keep it there.
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