To reduce homelessness, advocates say, build more affordable housing.

Although people fall into homelessness for a wide range of reasons, writes Libby Solomon, "national advocates and groups convened to end homelessness all point to one key cause of homelessness: a lack of affordable housing."
"A robust affordable housing stock," Solomon argues, "can prevent households from falling into homelessness in the first place." In fact, "[h]ousing affordability and homelessness have a direct link." According to Nan Roman, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, "the major societal change that coincided with widespread modern homelessness was a rise in the cost of housing." A 2018 Zillow study supports that conclusion, finding that "areas where people spend more than a third of their income on rent experience more rapid increases in homelessness."
In Washington, D.C., "low-income people in particular are struggling — more than half of DC’s lowest-income renters are cost-burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on rent, NLIHC [National Low Income Housing Coalition] says." At the end of August 2021, "more than 100,000 households across the region were behind on rent — about 14% of renters."
As in other parts of the country, housing construction isn't keeping up with rising demand, and rents are rising–signs that don't bode well for future housing stability for D.C. families.
FULL STORY: Homelessness and DC’s housing shortage are part of the same conversation

National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.

Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.

Delivering for America Plan Will Downgrade Mail Service in at Least 49.5 Percent of Zip Codes
Republican and Democrat lawmakers criticize the plan for its disproportionate negative impact on rural communities.

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Balancing Bombs and Butterflies: How the National Guard Protects a Rare Species
The National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap uses GIS technology and land management strategies to balance military training with conservation efforts, ensuring the survival of the rare eastern regal fritillary butterfly.
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