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Who Needs Affordable Housing?
The people who live in affordable housing want safe, decent housing for the same reasons that we all do: to provide a nurturing environment to raise children; to remain in the community where they were raised or to become part of a community in which they want to settle; and to live in an attractive, safe environment that they can afford.

Most residents of affordable housing are working. They are employed as secretaries, school teachers, local government employees, restaurant workers and sales clerks. These workers need affordable housing because of the wide gap between what they earn and what housing costs.

Many seniors need affordable housing. High housing costs can devastate their fixed incomes from pensions and Social Security. Some also need special services provided in affordable housing developments.

Some people with disabilities and special needs live in affordable housing.

Typically, those who are disabled are also living on limited incomes, which are inadequate to pay market rents. Some affordable housing developments, called “supportive housing,” offer special services such as counseling to their residents. Studies demonstrate that supportive housing provides these men and women with a cost-effective way to live as independently as possible.

People relying on government assistance need affordable housing. Some affordable housing developments set aside space for "very low income" tenants, many of whom are receiving some public subsidies, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (formerly AFDC) or "Section 8" assistance. Careful application procedures and screening of prospective tenants provides housing for those who need a "leg-up" to stabilize their lives, train for employment, and re-enter the work force as welfare reform begins.



CAMPAIGN HIGHLIGHT: Proposition 1C, the Housing and Emergency Shelter Trust Fund Act of 2006. Click here for election results and campaign wrap-up.



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