The number of households with worst case housing needs those who pay more than 50 percent of their income for housing or live in substandard housing has grown to a record 5.4 million households. Waiting lists for housing assistance are longer than ever. And there are still too many who are without shelter an estimated 600,000 homeless persons on any given night. In this time of economic prosperity, there is no better time than now to invest in those who have not yet experienced the rewards of our great national wealth. All of our experience shows that safe, decent, and affordable housing is the key to family well-being, educational success, and productive work.
Housing assistance helps parents provide better nutrition and health care for their children.
It is the key to helping elderly people remain secure in their homes, to helping families remain in stable housing so that their children can learn in school, and to freeing up income so that workers can afford a car to travel to a better job. Housing assistance makes sense. It is good public policy. That is the message of this year s Out of Reach report. With this important publication, the National Low Income Housing Coalition provides independent confirmation of the findings of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that affordable rental housing remains out of reach for millions of Americans.