The Housing Crisis in America

Happy 4th of July! While the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be more in control as the number of cases continues to decrease, there are still lasting economic impacts due to the pandemic that will take much longer to get better. One of these major issues is the housing crisis in America.

Before the pandemic even started, lack of affordable housing was a prevalent issue in society. Specifically in California (and several other heavily populated states), residents had been forced to double-up in apartments and houses, or to have to find shelter on the streets due to the insane increase of prices that have occurred over the past few years (Source: nytimes.com). The high cost of housing has been a significant problem for several years and continues to have significance today.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused an increase in unemployment rates, instability with living situations, and extra stress when caring for families. In a survey conducted in January of 2021, almost 20% of renters were behind on their payments (Source: ifstudies.org). Families, especially ones with school-aged children, had to make difficult decisions when it came to remaining safely housed. To help try to combat this crisis, Congress passed a COVID-19 economic relief bill that provided $25 billion to states and local governments to help them provide emergency rental assistance to those in need. (Source: ifstudies.org).

Here at Family Promise of Orange County we aim to raise awareness of the severity of the housing crisis in America, especially during this past pandemic year. We believe that all families deserve to be safely housed, so we work hard to ensure that the families we serve are able to live independently and happily!