{"id":10844,"date":"2019-03-22T09:14:05","date_gmt":"2019-03-22T13:14:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=10844"},"modified":"2023-07-31T12:54:06","modified_gmt":"2023-07-31T16:54:06","slug":"lack-of-affordable-housing-remains-the-leading-cause-of-homelessness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/lack-of-affordable-housing-remains-the-leading-cause-of-homelessness\/","title":{"rendered":"Lack of Affordable Housing Remains the Leading Cause of Homelessness"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The median wage to afford a two-bedroom apartment is approximately $21.21 while the federal minimum wage is just $7.25 an hour. A minimum wage worker would have to put in 122 hours every week to afford a two-bedroom apartment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Even amid an opioid crisis, inflated unemployment rates, and a slew of natural disasters, lack of affordable housing still ranks as the number one reason for homelessness in the United States and all across the globe<\/a>. By failing to remember this, we fail our communities as well as ourselves.<\/p>\n

Picture This: A City Street, a Washed Out Scene, A Missed Opportunity to Understand<\/h4>\n

Darkness falls over a city, covering all that we try not to see. A well-meaning man passes. He sees what he mistakes for a pile of garbage. In reality, that pile is a treasure trove for someone else, consisting of all the belongings they own in the world. The person whose prized possessions are oft-mistaken for garbage is homeless and feeling prematurely defeated as he senses a new set of eyes on his goods. \u201cNobody values my possessions\u201d quickly starts to feel like \u201cnobody values me\u201d.<\/p>\n

The well-meaning man continues on. He sees what he mistakes for a dirty blanket. In reality, that blanket is the homeless person\u2019s bed, or in a worse scenario, their home. The well-meaning man realizes that the person beneath that blanket is shivering. There is a pause now as reality settles in. There\u2019s a short-lived instance where the homeless man beneath that blanket feels seen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat person shivering is a human like myself,\u201d the well-meaning man decides.<\/h4>\n

He reaches into his pocket with a heart full of good intentions. He and this homeless man could have a great deal in common. Perhaps they grew up in the same neighborhood, went to the same schools, or even fought in the same wars. Due to modern conditions, it\u2019s entirely possible for two people to grow up as brothers in the same household, making near identical decisions, and for one of them to become homeless while the other does not. That\u2019s because modern homelessness is almost always the result of community inaction, as opposed to individual action.<\/p>\n

The well-meaning man clasps a pile of folded dollar bills between his fingers. It is only at the moment he realizes he must sacrifice his own earnings in order to aid this fellow human, that he learns his heart is also filled with excuses- millions of minuscule justifications that eventually give way to doubt.<\/p>\n

He reflects on the opioid crisis with disapproval. He toys with the idea that the homeless man is merely lazy, choosing to live on the street instead of just getting a job. After all, how could anyone be homeless in the richest nation on Earth? Little does he know that more than half a million Americans fit this description on any given night and their plight is heavily rooted in a lack of affordable housing<\/a>, something they can\u2019t control.<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably just an addict,\u201d the well-meaning man shrugs.<\/p>\n

He pulls his hand back out of his pocket. It is empty. Good intentions are never enough. The city is permeated with boarded up houses. Trash lines the street from traffic light to corner. The well-meaning man sees no relation between the state of his neighborhood and the state of his neighbor.<\/p>\n

We must change the way we see each other. We must come to grips with the ugly truth.<\/p>\n

Homelessness Starts at Home<\/h4>\n

While very few people are born homeless (although that sad reality also exists), every two minutes an infant<\/a> is born into extreme poverty. Extreme poverty is another leading cause of homelessness. But many people currently living under the burden of housing insecurity are not considered extremely poor.<\/p>\n

The bigger issue exists in the ever-growing gap between rent increases and wage increases. Statistically speaking, wages have been steadily decreasing at a rate of approximately .1% each year<\/a>. In stark contrast, rent has significantly increased at a rate of approximately 3% annually, leaving millions of working Americans falling by the wayside as they fail to make up the difference.<\/p>\n

To put things into perspective, a surplus of over 11 million households<\/a> currently spend more than 50% of their income on rent, a circumstance that has been coined \u201cseverely rent burdened\u201d and escalates their susceptibility to homelessness. But in truth, renters shouldn\u2019t realistically spend more than 30% of their monthly income on their homes. Keeping this figure in mind, we now see that an astounding 17 million households<\/a> currently face the looming threat of homelessness. It\u2019s worth mentioning that this number has gone up 19% since 2001.<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s Struggling to Pay Their Rent and Why?<\/h4>\n

Just because we\u2019re in the middle of a major drug epidemic does not, in any way, support the fictional myth that all or even most people struggling to pay their bills are addicts. The opioid epidemic is an entirely separate issue. Research shows that addiction is often an after effect of homelessness<\/a>, not the original reason. Below is a list of the types of individuals who are likely to be rent burdened.<\/p>\n