Affordable Housing Takes on Poverty

Without affordable housing there will be a continuous increase in minorities which also leads to a higher poverty rate. Poverty is the state of being extremely poor. Affordable housing helps decrease poverty in many ways than one. Affordable housing fulfills a human’s basic need for shelter as well as provides privacy for families. Those who receive affordable housing assistance and have children, benefit from better nutrition. Affordable housing would reduce poverty and should be available to those who are in dire need of it.

One of the most recognized categories of impoverished people are those who lack housing (Olsen,2019). Shelter is one of the most basic and crucial need of a human being. Without it they are open to anything that may come about.While increasing affordable housing can cause a tax increase, without affordable housing parents would have to obtain multiple jobs to get by and leaving children without proper parenting or guidance which would lead to a decrease in human development and an increase in crime rate.

Affordable housing is housing that does not cost more than thirty percent of your family income. The federal program began in the early 1930s due to the Great Depression. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, In 1937, the U.S. Housing Act sought to address housing needs of low income people through public housing.(Guide, 2015). The Housing Act of 1937 brought the middle class out of the projects to replace them with single-parent households who were on welfare. Due to the uproar and rioting in urban areas because of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed two commissions to try to rectify the situation. The addition of the Commission of Urban Housing and the Commission of Urban Problems led the way for the Section 236 program which is a private effort to provide affordable housing(Edson,2019)

A major cause of stress is trying to figure out how to make ends meet for the family. Working two or more 9-5 jobs takes a arent out of a home that needs guidance and to be taught. Lack of a parent in a home breads children who have to raise themselves typically with the help of the neighborhood. If most of the limited affordable housing homes are located in high risk neighborhoods, and all the adults are at work to make money in order to provide necessities for the household who would be present to teach and guide the children into a positive lifestyle? Affordable housing reduces this cause of stress and stress itself. Affordable housing brings in workers especially if commuting is easier. Parents with affordable housing assistance tend to have more money available for other necessities and household items because they are spending less on housing. This allows them to spend more on groceries which enables them to buy more nutritious foods that will help promote growth and a healthy lifestyle for their children.

Affordable housing causes social issues in neighborhoods. “Minorities of race, class, and ethnics are more like to be exposed to violent crimes (Sackett,). Residential stability and job opportunities for the youth are a few characteristics that are associated with lower crime rates. Exposure to violent crimes are detrimental to human development. A study completed in 2016 suggested that property value decrease in neighborhoods where there are high rates of violent crimes rather than property crimes (Sackett). Many individuals that possess housing choice voucher are consistently requesting that a safer neighborhood is very important and should be priority when suggesting living arrangements when placing their clients. This leaves room to believe that individuals with housing vouchers are more likely to be placed in neighborhoods that dangerous and less appealing due to affordability.

The Section 8 program or the Housing Choice Voucher Program is a federal government funded program that was created to assist low-income families, the elderly and disabled find safe and sanitary housing from the private market (PHA,2019). The housing authority allows the participant to choose their own housing, though they encourage them to consider certain housing choices in order to reach the need of the families. Participants are welcomed to single-family homes, townhouses and apartments while also not being subjected to subsidized housing projects. With the lack of available resources many individuals who may apply will be subjected to a waiting list that should be expected to have long waiting periods. Individuals can also be turned away if the those that are currently on the waitlist will not be receiving assistance in the near future(PHA,2019).

In conclusion, creating more affordable housing programs or even making the current housing program more effective could create better communities and individuals as a whole. Public safety is a necessity not a privilege. A tax increase is not as important as millions of low-income families being without the opportunity to live in safe environment and providing a healthy lifestyle for their families. Affordable housing will provide a better living schedule, Parents will be able to care for their kids and promote human development. The decrease in minorities will create a thriving economic system. Though it would require taxpayers to pay more money it will be for a cause they can later benefit them and receive the money right back.

References

1. A Brief Historical Overview of Affordable Rental Housing. Retrieved February 22, 2019, from https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/Sec1.03_Historical-Overview_2015.pdfEdson, C. L. (n.d.).
2. Affordable Housing— An Intimate History. Retrieved February 22, 2019, from http://apps.americanbar.org/abastore/products/books/abstracts/5530024 chapter 1_abs.pdf
3. HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHERS FACT SHEET. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2019, from https://www.hud.gov/topics/housing_choice_voucher_program_section_8Olsen, E. O. (2019). Reforming Housing Policy. Retrieved February 22, 2019, from http://www.aei.org/spotlight/reducing-poverty-by-reforming-housing-policy/Sackett, C. (2016, July/August).
4. Neighborhoods and Violent Crime. Retrieved February 22, 2019, from https://www.huduser.gov/portal/periodicals/em/summer16/highlight2.html

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