scarce

The United States is facing an expanding gap between how much workers earn and how much they have to pay for housing. Workers have faced stagnant wages for the past 40 years. Yet the cost of rent has steadily increased during that time, with sharp increases of 14% to 40% over the past two years. Now, more than ever, workers are feeling the stress of the affordable housing crisis. While I was conducting research in economically hard-hit communities from Appalachia to Oakland, California, for my recent book, published in November 2021, nearly every person I met was experiencing the painful reality of being caught between virtually stagnant wages and rising housing costs. As a sociologist, I had expected that low-wage workers would struggle with the cost of housing. I did not expect to m...

Before the family housing program opened at his university, Blake and his two young daughters were couch-surfing at the homes of their friends and family. “They only saw me coming and going,” Blake explains, describing how he had to juggle a job at a local casino, college classes and parenting as a single homeless dad pursuing a career in nursing. When the university opened its family housing program in 2014, Blake and his daughters were among the first to move in. Living on campus changed their lives. The girls claimed a place within the college community. They made friends with people across campus, ate with their dad in the dining hall and did homework together as a family. And Blake was able to better focus on his studies. The program – which has since been discontinued – is a rarit...

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Renters Asking: Where Do We Go? Affordable Housing In The US Is Increasingly Scarce

Student Housing Scarce For College Students With Kids