I talk a lot about the importance of local elections. Not only does your vote matter more in a local race, but policies are decided upon and implemented much faster at a local scale than a statewide or national one. A prime example of this is Raleigh’s 2020 Affordable Housing Bond referendum up for a vote this election.
For a relatively small cost to taxpayers — estimated at $20 extra in property taxes annually — this program would make serious inroads in combating Wake County’s housing problem at multiple income levels. Housing insecurity is an enduring issue in urban areas like Raleigh, where the availability of high-paying jobs pushes housing competition into overdrive, raising prices for everyone and leaving many residents behind. A lack of affordable housing can also further aggravate problems of chronic homelessness, which is a moral, as well as economic, crisis.
Students who moved back on campus in the fall are somewhat familiar with the stress of housing uncertainty — whether scrambling to find off-campus accommodations or awaiting a waiver to remain on campus the rest of the semester. However, while many were able to resolve these difficulties, or at least move back home to their parents, some students may have been unable to. NC State notes that almost 10% of students experienced homelessness at some point in 2017.
Housing is especially pivotal during this pandemic, as sheltering in place is the best way to protect oneself from exposure to the disease. However, COVID-19 is still only worsening an existing problem — the fact that people suffering chronic housing insecurity often visit the hospital more frequently than average, usually as a result of preventable illnesses.
In addition to severely diminishing quality of life for these people, regular emergency room visits are much more costly to the economy than preventative care. Hospitals bear the brunt of this cost because people who lack access to housing generally lack access to health insurance as well, meaning they can’t afford check-ups or medicine that would reduce the risk of another trip to the emergency room. These costs add up to more than the amount needed to provide supportive housing, which includes both a place to live and support services, like job counseling and health care, to the same individuals. One of the five funding areas in this proposal includes money for supportive housing programs, a crucial step toward fighting chronic homelessness.
The new proposal may also play a significant role in preventing people from suffering chronic or even temporary housing insecurity by creating more affordable housing. In addition to buying land near proposed public transportation options in preparation for future housing, the funding will assist new homeowners with providing a down payment and support nonprofit housing developers who are building new, affordable homes.
Seeing as the obvious solution to a housing crisis is to build more houses, this proposal is a significant step in the right direction, and should help Raleigh forestall skyrocketing home prices. As the proposal also provides direct assistance to people who are close to home ownership but facing hurdles like a large down payment, it exhibits a commitment to equity across income levels. The funding it offers for critical repairs in existing households could also substantially improve the quality of life for people who could not otherwise afford them.
Raleigh needs to tackle its housing challenges. As students, we are intimately familiar with the high price of housing both on and off campus, as our school is located right next to downtown. Young people, in general, are likely to face substantial difficulty in leaping onto the ladder of homeownership, and this proposal goes a long way to help us with those concerns. Hopefully, this bond will be the first of several similarly high-quality bonds which will finally get this city’s housing supply under control.
