Last month, the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC)’s national campaign, Opportunity Starts at Home, released the results of a nationwide public opinion poll about the affordable housing crisis. The poll is the first in several years to gauge the public’s opinion on these issues – and the results underscore the importance of the work that VAHC, its members, and members of NLIHC do. Below are some of the key findings of the poll, from the fact sheet:
91% of people say stable affordable housing is very important or one of the most important things that affect people’s security and well-being in the United States.
76% believe that, compared with previous generations, it is harder today for people to find stable housing they can afford. The results from people living in rural areas and people living in the Northeast are slightly higher, both polling in at 78%.
73% say housing affordability is a problem in the area where they live, with 60% saying it is a serious problem – up 21 points from 2016. This number is 64% among respondents living in the Northeast.
91% say it is important for communities to have affordable, quality rental housing.
61% report that they have had to make at least one sacrifice in the past three years because they were struggling to pay for housing.
85% agree that ensuring that everyone has a safe, decent, affordable place to live should be a “top national priority.” 90% of respondents living in the Northeast feel the same.
83% agree that elected officials are not paying enough attention to the cost of housing and the need for more affordable housing.
Overall, the poll shows overwhelming support for innovative policy solutions aimed at fixing the affordable housing crisis. At the state level, legislators in Vermont have been hard at work coming up with ways to address the issue – and beyond that, our members continue to be hard at work on issues surrounding affordable housing. At the national level, there have been some innovative proposals that are gaining steam as more and more presidential candidates talk about housing on the campaign trail.
One thing is clear from the poll – we can’t have healthy, thriving communities without addressing the housing crisis.
More reading:
To view a more in-depth fact sheet of the poll results, please visit: https://bit.ly/2U8xj85
To view the full national survey report, please visit: https://bit.ly/2FuL8V2
To view the survey data, please visit: https://bit.ly/2Fz23af
To read the campaign’s open letter to presidential candidates, please visit: https://bit.ly/2JFSsT6