NCJ Number
141210
Journal
Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare Volume: 19 Issue: 4 Dated: special issue (December 1992) Pages: 151-176
Date Published
1992
Length
26 pages
Annotation
The "affordability gap," defined here as the growing gap between the cost of housing, including utilities, and the incomes of an increasing number of households, is seen as the underlying cause of homelessness. Progress in eliminating homelessness will require the provision of government housing subsidies to very low income households to allow them to cover this gap.
Abstract
Most analyses compare the incomes of the bottom quartile of renter households with the availability of housing and utilities at costs at or below 30 percent of that income level. However, this approach ignores other housing factors including quality, availability, and size, as well as affordability for households with incomes significantly below this level. This study, however, estimates that the 1991 fair market rent for a one-bedroom apartment was too expensive for at least one-third of renters in every State. Even families with two wage earners can often not afford adequate housing. Federal housing laws give preference to "worst case" families, those who pay more than half their income for housing, who are homeless, or who live in seriously inadequate housing. A Federal policy to deal with homelessness is currently being developed. It will be based on the premises that the homeless population is heterogenous, that the varying needs of the individual or family must be addressed in a comprehensive manner by social service agencies, that better coordination of efforts and resources is essential, and that decent and permanent housing must be made available to homeless families. There must also be strategies developed to prevent homelessness by identifying persons at risk, changing current policies that promote homelessness, and proposing other initiatives to help those individuals and families. 4 tables and 22 notes