Today’s Read: A Growing Need for Federal Housing Policy to Focus on Low-Income Families

Barbara Sard from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities wrote recently on the difficulties facing low income renters. Across the country, the number of families with children living on less than $2 per person per day has more than doubled since 1996. Yet federal housing resources have not stepped up to meet this growing need.

Even more surprisingly, more than half of all federal money spent on housing assistance actually goes to households with incomes above $100,000.

It’s time to address the growing housing crisis across the country. And one of the smartest places to start is with low-income households. By allocating more housing resources to these families, we are more likely to move families out of homelessness or prevent them from becoming homeless in the first place—a smart investment that will save millions on shelter expenses.

And on a more local level, we also need New York City to actually allow homeless families to access these vital federal housing resources.

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