Tracing the Policies and Decisions that Led to Today’s Homelessness Epidemic and the 7.3-million-unit Affordable Housing Deficit
“In 1970, we had a 300,000-unit surplus of affordable housing. Today, we have a 7-million-unit deficit, and we have dug ourselves into that hole.”
Executive Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) Jeff Olivet, in an exclusive interview with Invisible People
We are facing an unprecedented crisis of homelessness in the United States of America. With historic highs of unhoused people and a severe shortage of housing units, this is unlike anything we’ve seen in modern times.
Millions of people face housing instability, whether they’re living on the streets, staying on a friend’s or family member’s couch, or somewhere in between. Homelessness can happen suddenly or develop gradually, but no matter the circumstances, the lack of stable housing remains the root cause.
Given our current circumstances, it’s probably hard to imagine a world where affordable housing for most Americans could even exist. What if we told you that was the reality just a couple of generations ago? Today, we take a look at the horrific decline in affordable housing and find ways to combat the raging homeless crisis.
From Surplus to Deficit: How Homelessness Became a Housing Problem and Why People Still Don’t Recognize It As Such
In the 1970s, the US had a homeless problem that existed for vastly different reasons than it does today. Notedly, homelessness in that era affected fewer people and often for a shorter time than now.
During that period, there was plenty of housing, and homelessness was largely a byproduct of things like deinstitutionalization, racism, redlining, unaddressed disabilities, poverty, and war. This was messaged to the public, who increasingly began to see homelessness as a problem tied to mental illness, violence, crime, and drug addiction. This was never an accurate message, but as housing affordability became more apparent, the message went from somewhat inaccurate to downright detrimental.
Today, most of the issues above still exist in some form or to some extent, and they are still causing homelessness to increase. However, there is another factor that now sits at the heart of the homeless crisis, and it is the lack of affordable housing.
According to Time Magazine, the 1970s was a pivotal point in housing history, a time when housing was abundant, but systemic racism was creating a massive problem in the sector. During the 1960s and into the ‘70s, a notorious form of public housing reared its ugly head – dilapidated units known as housing projects were erected, primarily to support segregation and to keep people of color separate, single, and in dire straits. An experiment with entirely negative results spawned a future where housing prices could be inflated, and the supply would not keep up with the demand.
As author Lily Geismer aptly explained:
“Congress passed a law raising the cap on rents to 30% of a household’s income, which substantially increased the rent for people who worked and drove many of them into the private market. This exodus transformed public housing into the option of last resort, inhabited exclusively by the poorest of the poor.”
It should be noted that today, paying more than 30% of one’s income on rent constitutes a type of housing vulnerability known as rent burden, which automatically increases people’s risk for homelessness.
As the federal government focused on subsidizing a private housing market rather than constructing more affordable homes, the supply of necessary housing units began to dwindle. Then came President Reagan in the 1980s, whose trickle-down take on politics cut federal funding for public housing, forcing us into a deficit of 3.3 million affordable housing units by 1985. This shift was not only because low-income housing construction was stalled but also because people were poorer, and the need for that type of housing had drastically grown.
Experts cite the following factors for creating a ripple effect in affordability, as the only thing that trickled down was our housing supply:
- The federal budget for public housing and Section 8 was cut in half.
- Federal housing assistance became obsolete.
- Free and deregulated markets became the new face of funding as the president avoided doling out government assistance.
Meanwhile, the conditions of the housing projects fell into disrepair, and poverty swept the nation. Guess what grew? Homelessness, a crisis renewed by poor planning. By now, all of the factors that once fueled homelessness came to a head – the redlining, the racism, the deinstitutionalization. But even then, in 1985, with a deficit of 3.3 million, the lack of affordable housing already played a role in people living on the streets. It was seldom reported on but ever-present.
Breaking the Bank: How the 2008 Bank Bailout Took Its Toll on the American Dream
Even in the early aughts, the shortage of affordable homes was not as severe as today. A financial crisis ensued in 2008 when the housing bubble burst, presumably caused by predatory lending practices and insufficient banking system regulation, displacing an astonishing 10 million Americans. It wasn’t only this catastrophe that kicked the housing crisis into high gear, but perhaps more importantly, it was our response to it.
The Great Recession of 2008 was poorly addressed as political leaders vied to bail out the banks instead of the people. The banks used that bailout money to further advance their own interests at the expense of would-be homebuyers and renters.
Now, in 2024, we have a shortage of 7.3 million affordable homes and an understanding of homelessness that is still stuck in 1971 and continues addressing causes of homelessness that are now secondary to the main issue, which continues to be this lack of affordable homes.
Homelessness is a Housing Problem. Alert Your Legislators.
Leaders on both sides of the political aisle continue to associate homelessness with things like mental illness, substance use, and even crime, completely ignoring the pivotal role of housing. Refusing to admit that housing is the leading cause of homelessness will only serve to be counterproductive in efforts to solve the problem. Be sure to remind your legislators that homelessness is a housing problem, and you will vote accordingly.
