- Priced Out: High rents drive housing crisis, December 3, 2010, Centre Daily Times: “While local governments have devoted much attention in recent years to concerns over the lack of affordable housing, the debate has largely centered on the need for ‘work force’ housing, which would put home ownership within reach of more people. Almost unnoticed in the discussion was another aspect of the housing issue: the lack of affordable rental housing. But last summer, members of the Centre County Affordable Housing Coalition sounded a warning. The lack of low-income housing, they said, had become a crisis. For the past several months, CDT reporters have sought out experts in housing, both in Centre County and across the state, and talked with dozens of people who told tales of being on the brink of homelessness because of low-paying jobs, lost jobs, illnesses and misjudgments. Together, they paint a picture of a long-standing problem made more visible by the economic downturn. Andy Haines, of S&A Homes, stated it clearly: ‘A lot of people have lost jobs. They’re not looking to buy houses. They’re looking to keep a roof over their heads…'”
- New Orleans still lacks affordable housing for its poorest people, report says, By Katy Reckdahl, November 24, 2010, New Orleans Times-Picayune: “Like other parts of Louisiana, New Orleans still lacks housing that is affordable to its poorest people, the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency found in a statewide assessment of housing needs released this week. Policymakers now have more data showing where housing is needed, said Alison Jones, LHFA board chairwoman, who expressed hope that the data would ‘facilitate agreement … to help move forward critically needed housing projects.’ Time is running out on legislators’ last-ditch efforts to extend or allow the exchange of Gulf Opportunity Zone tax credits, which expire at the end of this year…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty