Having Trouble Finding Affordable Housing? NLIHC Can Help!
Key Takeaways:
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Low-income families are spending more than half of their income on rent, making affordable housing almost inaccessible for most Americans.
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This has prompted the National Low Income Housing Coalition to push for anti-racial and equitable public policies.
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These policies ensure low-income earners access affordable homes in their preferred communities.
Understanding NLIHC
The National Low Income Housing Coalition is a membership agency open to organizations, individuals, corporations, and government agencies dedicated to ending homelessness and the housing crisis in the United States.
It aims to:
- Preserve existing homes and housing resources;
- Lengthen the supply of low-income housing; and
- Set up housing stability
NLIHC achieves its main purpose through:
- Educating lawmakers and the people about the necessity of affordable homes;
- Mobilizing members to advocate for good housing policies; and
- Shaping public opinion on low-income housing issues
How many work hours must a minimum-wage earner work to afford a 2-BR apartment? Find out in our new #OOR22 report at: https://t.co/89zbP1IiU6 pic.twitter.com/RVIO7qZpvY
— National Low Income Housing Coalition (@NLIHC) July 28, 2022
NLIHC Programs
NLIHC has initiated various programs to address the affordable housing crisis in the United States. These programs include:
Housing First
The Housing First program prioritizes permanent housing for homeless people, reducing the homelessness crisis among many communities. NLIHC organizes a Housing First Working Group that provides congressional support for using the Housing First strategy to end homelessness.
Public Housing
Public Housing denotes housing stock owned by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. It is meant to provide housing assistance to households earning low income. NLIHC advocates for preserving the remaining public housing stock so more households can find housing.
Housing Choice Voucher
Housing choice voucher programs help low-income Americans find decent and affordable housing in the private market. This is achieved by compensating the property owner the difference between the rent and what a household can afford to pay.
National Housing Trust Fund
The National Housing Trust Fund covers housing resources aimed to build, rehabilitate, preserve, and operate rental housing for people earning an extremely low income. The NLIHC leads the implementation, protection, and expansion of this trust fund. The coalition does this by offering congress more support and helping pull more resources to fund HTF.
Housing-Related Tax Credits
NLIHC supports the development and expansion of housing-related tax credits. These are credits such as renters’ tax-credits and low-income housing tax credits.
Project-Based Housing
The federal government provides this incentive to encourage the development of affordable rental housing through public-private partnership programs. In addition, NLIHC is dedicated to preserving public housing through data collection and management to catalog and preserve the housing resources.
Accessing decent housing becomes costly annually, creating a housing crisis in the United States. The NLIHC programs listed above are meant to benefit renters or anyone with extremely low income to get safe, decent, and affordable places to call home.
Which NLIHC Resources Are Available to the Public?
NLIHC offers the End Rental Arrears to Stop Evictions (ERASE) project to ensure the housing assistance enacted by congress reaches marginalized and low-income renters.
Its main aim is to eliminate tenant’s rent debts and stop evictions by:
- Analyzing emergency rental assistance utilization;
- Documenting practices; and
- Developing partnerships for outreach and education.
Housing affordability is a serious issue that requires to be addressed. Join NLIHC in urging congress to facilitate equitable, anti-racist policies and sustainable investments necessary to assist low-income earners in getting affordable homes.
If you need more immediate rental assistance, this is worth your time.
