"Opportunity Starts at Home," a short documentary film released this week by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, exposes how housing affordability is central to other national priorities, including health care, food security, education and more.
Cathy Alderman, chief communications and public policy officer for the Coalition, said having a safe place to eat, bathe and sleep at night is the foundation upon which every other aspect of our lives depends.
"It is very difficult to maintain employment, or to maintain attendance at school, if you don't have a home," Alderman explained. "It's very important for your health and for your mental health to have a stable place to be."
The film release is part of a national campaign aiming to open a window for communities, and politicians, to see the far-reaching impacts of the housing crisis, especially on children. As the gap between rents and incomes continues to grow, the campaign wants to correct long-standing racial inequities preventing access to affordable, quality housing for families with low incomes.
The film can be screened online on the Coalition's YouTube channel.
According to the most recent data, 18,000 children on average experience homelessness each year in Colorado. Because getting an accurate count can be challenging, Alderman pointed out the actual number could be much higher.
"Because those are oftentimes the people that are sleeping in their cars, and they often don't want to be found and counted," Alderman noted. "Because they have fears about being separated, or losing custody of their children."
The Coalition is planning additional public events in an effort to convince voters, and their elected representatives in Congress, ramping up federal funding for affordable housing to pre-Reagan administration levels is necessary to meet current and future needs.
Alderman emphasized investments in housing are also investments in children's educational achievement, economic opportunities for families and so much more.
"We need to be investing more in housing and homelessness resolution if we want to achieve better outcomes in the education system, in our health care system, in our criminal-justice system, etc.," Alderman stressed.
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New York State housing advocates say they are furious about the so-called "good cause eviction bill" in the new state budget.
It grants tenant protections to people in New York City but all other municipalities will need to opt in. It also requires renters to know their landlord's portfolio to determine eligibility for "good cause" eviction protections and the information can be hard to find.
Ritti Singh, communications organizer for the group Housing Justice for All, said previous iterations would have balanced tenant and landlord interests.
"What it required landlords to do was to show they had a valid cause of eviction, which would include nonpayment, violating the lease, causing trouble, if the landlord wanted to move into the unit," Singh outlined. "It also allowed tenants to contest rent increases over 3%, or 1.5 times the rate of inflation."
For all its potential benefits, a New York University study noted "good cause" eviction comes with just as many drawbacks. It can discourage maintenance investments in buildings, and increase the cost of resolving landlord-tenant disputes. Singh noted the bill was not designed to crimp a landlord's ability to do business but to make the housing system fairer.
Cities like Rochester and Ithaca are close to declaring housing emergencies due to rising rents. Municipalities must have a vacancy study rate below 5% to declare a housing emergency. Singh pointed out the housing crisis affects renters statewide.
"Rents are rising faster in Syracuse than they are in New York City," Singh emphasized. "In March, rents hit record highs in New York City. Rural New York is expected to see a surge of evictions over the next decade, and Long Island renters face the highest cost burdens in all of New York State."
Newburgh declared a housing emergency last year but the Orange County Supreme Court recently overturned the decision. The petitioners' attorney argued Newburgh's vacancy study was inaccurate. The Emergency Tenant Protection Act does not cover the city's renters now and jeopardizes other tenant protections the city has proposed.
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Oregon lawmakers passed a major housing package in this year's session, but said easing the state's housing crisis will take more work.
Bills passed during the short legislative session will send a total of $376 million to address the state's housing shortage, including Senate Bill 1530 and Senate Bill 1537, priorities for Gov. Tina Kotek.
Shannon Vilhauer, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Oregon, said the governor's housing package is groundbreaking.
"We also see important investments in emergency housing assistance, addiction recovery support and renters protections," Vilhauer pointed out. "Those are all investments that are going to help stabilize Oregonians in need of housing assistance and benefit the communities we all share."
The housing package includes funds for housing and homelessness projects and to support counties buying land and developing properties.
However, Vilhauer argued there is still more to do to address the crisis. During the next legislative session, she hopes the state will help first-time homebuyers, as well as make other investments.
"Preserving affordable rental homes that exist now but are at risk of terming out of their affordability and going market rate," Vilhauer explained. "We'd love to see that affordable housing preservation investment move forward in a strong way."
Vilhauer acknowledged the housing issue in Oregon cannot be solved immediately. It is a problem decades in the making.
"It will take a concerted effort over time to continue to make headway," Vilhauer stressed. "We're starting to get there but we need to keep going with a sustained effort."
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A new report shows Montana has the nation's most rapidly rising homeless population. Advocates for more affordable housing call the situation critical.
One Kalispell-based shelter is asking for state funding to expand, and do what it can to help.
The most recent Annual Homelessness Assessment Report shows Montana saw a 551% increase in its unsheltered population, the steepest rise in the country between 2007 and 2023.
Kalispell-based Samaritan House Executive Director Chris Krager said he feels the pinch every night.
"I like to think we can handle it," said Krager. "We're trying to address it. Samaritan House, we see between 95 and 105 people every night."
That's capacity for Samaritan House, which Krager said has been full every night for a decade - and often has to help people find other options.
He has asked for state funds to expand the facility, which would double its occupancy.
In addition to building single and multi-family housing, Samaritan House also plans to create housing for veterans.
Krager said they often experience mental health issues along with homelessness. The report shows Montana was one of only four states with an increase in homeless veterans.
"Kalispell is the largest city in Montana with no dedicated homeless veteran housing," said Krager. "So, we're going to fix that. The reason this is serious is because the nature of homelessness in Montana - certain times of the year, it could be fatal. So, we want to really be on our game, especially if it's cold out."
More than 30% of people in Montana's homeless shelters reported a mental health and/or substance use disorder in 2022. The report shows in some shelters, that number is nearly two-thirds.
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