THE AFFORDABILITY CRISIS

Homelessness, substandard housing and the lack of affordable options are part of a national crisis that destroys lives, wrenches families apart and degrades communities. Every day more people live on the edge and solutions often are elusive.

Houston has experienced some of the highest housing cost increases in the nation. According to the latest report by The Kinder Institute for Urban Research, over the last 10 years, housing costs have risen most quickly for Houston’s lowest-earning workers. In the past year, of those citizens surveyed:

35% struggled to pay for housing
40% were unable to come up with $400 for an emergency
25% had no health insurance
33% had difficulty paying for food

Poverty and homelessness are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. High housing costs leave low-income persons with little money for other important expenses, such as healthcare, food, and education, leading to difficult budget trade-offs.

Affordable supportive housing is a platform for driving change and improving quality of life. As an intervention and prevention platform, it anchors a community and provides a launchpad for delivering a variety of health and social services.

THE FACTS OF HOMELESSNESS IN HOUSTON

Houston has been recognized nationally for establishing the model of an impactful, comprehensive homeless response system with permanent supportive housing at its core. The Way Home Continuum of Care is the collaborative effort working to prevent and end homelessness in Houston and its surrounding counties.

3,938 people in Houston are homeless

Since 2012, partners of The Way Home have housed more than 18,000 individuals, resulting in an overall reduction of homelessness by 54% in the region. Although Houston/Harris County has seen incredible progress, there still is much work to be done. Hurricane Harvey set us back. We saw a marked increase in homelessness. And even though we saw a small reduction in the 2019 homeless count, we still have far too many living on the streets, in cars and abandoned buildings. It is proven that an affordable, quality place to live fuels a meaningful life.

25% are households with children

120K affordable housing units needed for people living in poverty (those with annual incomes <$30K)

To afford a 1-bedroom market rate apartment in Houston ($860) a minimum-wage earner needs to work 91 hours/week

30% of Houstonians are severely cost burdened, spending more than 50% of their income on Housing + Transportation