Affordable housing is key to living a stable, secure life, and is closely linked to an individual’s ability to save money and reach financial independence. Hardworking Mississippians should be able to afford decent housing and still be able to pay for basics, like groceries, child care and medicine. Sadly, affordable housing is out of reach for too many Mississippi families.
- One-third of Mississippi’s homeowners and 53 percent of renters spend more than 30 percent of their monthly income on housing.
- 1 out of every 4 senior citizen homeowners spends more than 30 percent of their monthly income on housing.
- Employers face difficulty attracting and retaining employees when the housing market does not offer enough affordable, safe homes.
- Studies show when children do not have a stable, safe place to call home, they fall behind and struggle in school and they suffer poor health.
Affordable Housing Trust Fund
Mississippi Center for Justice has supported legislation to create an Affordable Housing Trust Fund, as a part of Housing Mississippi, a coalition of nonprofit and private businesses dedicated to affordable housing across the state.
Across the country, 46 states and more than 600 hundred cities and counties use Housing Trust Funds to meet their local needs. By providing a stable source to fund housing needs, an Affordable Housing Trust Fund would expand housing opportunities for:
- Mississippi children, who deserve a stable place to call home so they can be healthier, do better in school and have more opportunities in life.
- Seniors, who have earned the right to live safely and with dignity.
- People with disabilities, who need more opportunities for safe, secure housing to support their development.
- Veterans, who left their jobs and families to fight for our freedom, and who deserve to return to a place where decent housing is affordable and available.
For more information or to get involved in the campaign, please contact us.