Most of us live in a nice home and don’t have to worry about how to make a house payment or pay the rent.
We may not realize how fortunate we are, especially since millions of American families are struggling to find a stable place to live. This does not mean all of these people are homeless, but many families live in substandard housing and find themselves moving frequently.
Housing crisis
Housing costs are soaring, forcing families and individuals to cut back on other necessities —- food, health care, clothing, school needs, and utilities — so they can keep a roof over their head, reported a Catholic News Service article.
Sr. Donna Markham, president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, reported on the housing crisis during a program planned by the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign at the National Press Club January 16.
“We need to acknowledge sadly that we’ve not done all that we could to meet the basic moral test of attending to the needs of poor people and their children to live safely and securely in a home and have a pathway out of extreme poverty,” Sister Donna said.
Catholic Charities USA is one of 20 organizations that are part of the campaign in a nationwide push to call attention to the massive shortfall of affordable housing. The coalition is calling on the federal government to set policy priorities and coordinate state and local efforts to address the crisis.
Bipartisan bills introduced
Two bipartisan bills were introduced in Congress in December in an attempt to address the affordable housing gap. One would address evictions, and the other would boost the number of housing vouchers available to low-income families with children.
The bills are the Eviction Crisis Act, introduced by Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colorado) and Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), and the Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act, introduced by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) and Sen. Todd Young (R-Indiana).
These two bills provide a starting point in solving the housing crisis. I encourage people to read more about the bills and contact their members of Congress to support them.