May 1st through the 8th is National Housing Week of Action, and several companies and nonprofit organizations are using this time to promote affordable housing and the benefits it brings to the community.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition, as part of its Our Homes, Our Voices campaign, reveal several key benefits of affordable housing to both those living in the homes and to the economy as a whole.
NLIHC released an infographic which demonstrates the effects affordable housing has on children, saying that low income children that grow up in stable, affordable homes are more likely to stay in school and experience success than those who grow up without affordable homes.
And those aren’t the only benefits affordable housing brings to residents. The infographic below from the Our Homes, Our Voices campaign shows those who have affordable housing are able to spend more on other essential elements.
It also shows some of the health benefits families experience while living in federally assisted homes including helping children avoid environmental health hazards and other benefits.
But those living in the affordable homes aren’t the only ones who would benefit, according the NLIHC. The infographic below shows that building even just 100 affordable rental homes has several benefits to the economy, including generating $2.2 million in taxes and other revenue for local governments.
However, despite the benefits NLIHC says it would bring to the community, a 2014 report from the Urban Institute shows only one in four people who qualify for assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development receive it.
The infographic below shows only there are only 35 affordable homes for every 100 extremely low income renter households. It also shows what families who don’t receive assistance pay in monthly rent compared to their income.
