Most of us can relate to the pains of rising housing costs. Would it surprise you to learn that housing affordability and who experiences homelessness is largely predicted by race? According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s March 2024 issue of The Gap, “57% of Black households are renters and 19% are extremely low-income renters. 52% percent of Latino households are renters, and 13% are extremely low-income renters. In contrast, 27% of white households are renters, and 6% are extremely low-income renters. These disparities are the product of historical and ongoing injustices that have systematically disadvantaged people of color, often preventing them from owning a home and significantly limiting wealth accumulation.”
In Michigan in 2022, 67% of ALICE households paid more than 30% of their income toward rent, and 38% paid more than 50% of their income on rent. This rent burden doesn’t just affect the likelihood a family is able to stay in their housing; it also has implications on physical and mental health, “including increased risk for depression, anxiety, chronic diseases, and shortened life span” (ALICE in the Crosscurrents: Update, 2024).
So what’s helping? Check out the following success stories:
- The Detroit Right to Counsel Coalition successfully organized the support of a city ordinance to support the right to legal council for people facing eviction. Since the launch of the Right to Counsel program tenants with full legal support were 18% more likely to stay in their homes. Additionally, the $18-million investment is estimated to generate an economic benefit to the community three times the amount invested (2024 MI Statewide Housing Needs Assessment, 2024)
- A review of Indigenous homemaking research found that Indigenous housing practices support more than just housing needs. They also support the social wellbeing of Indigenous peoples at Indigenous-led housing cooperatives. While the model is inherently Western, the practice often takes on characteristics of Indigenous values. Residents reported that they believed the increase in social wellbeing was a result of the connection to both community and culture (Bowra & Mashford-Pringle, 2021).
What are your neighbors and members of your community doing to support BIPOC housing access?
Today’s Challenge
Read
- Embedding Racial Equity in Housing, by the National League of Cities. (5 mins) https://www.nlc.org/article/2020/07/09/embedding-racial-equity-in-housing/
Watch
- Watch this video from the Urban institute exposing how housing discrimination against marginalized communities including racial and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, LGBTQIA+, and low-income families occurs today. (4:57) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP7WBiqg8Dk
- Public policy expert and author Heather C. McGhee explains how racism has a cost for everyone. Racism makes our economy worse — and not just in ways that harm people of color, says public policy expert Heather C. McGhee. McGhee shares startling insights into how racism fuels bad policymaking and drains our economic potential. “It costs us so much to remain divided.” (14:21) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaCrsBtiYA4
Discussion
- Reflect on your own experiences of housing. How has or how might housing instability affect your life? What are the ripple effects?
- How have housing policies impacted your family through the generations?
