By Alisa Magnotta — We say it a lot at Housing Assistance: housing is the foundation of everything a person wants to be and achieve. Without a stable place to live, it is incredibly difficult for people to continue their education, care for their health, or save anything for a rainy day or a big dream.
More than that, a home is where the Land of Opportunity materializes. It is where our values are set, our dreams are realized, and the people we love come together. Housing is the foundation of a person’s life. Without it, the American Dream never happens. That’s the sad reality for more and more people struggling to find a place to call home in the midst of this current housing crisis. But it does not have to be this way.
There are specific outdated policies driving the housing crisis, and that means we can change those policies. We need to think differently about housing. Then, we can act differently and change the course of our future. It’s time to stop talking about our housing shortage and take action.
There are practical steps that we can take to add housing in our communities – today. Our American Dream is threatened by the lack of housing inventory available in our communities. Our workforce and economy are stifled because there is not enough housing for the labor force of today to build a life.
Let’s foster construction of housing that creates options such as smaller apartments and accessory dwelling units so that there is natural affordability in our housing markets. Attainable housing that the wages of today can afford is the most pressing issue we face. Without it, nothing aspirational – as a society or as an individual – is possible.
Change is within reach. Our lack of supply is driven largely in part by the broad application of single family zoning. Join me on this quest to save our American Dream by rethinking the broad application of single family zoning. Because 21st Century realities deserve 21st Century solutions.
The first step is to change the way we think about housing in our communities and getting more people involved in solving the housing crisis at the town level. I’m honored that TEDx Provincetown felt the same way and invited me to share Housing Assistance’s innovative programs during September’s TEDx event.
You can help by watching the video and sharing it with your friends, family and colleagues. Click the image below to watch my TedX talk.
If you’re on Facebook, please go to our page and share, like, and comment on our TEDx video post so more people hear this important message!
Together, we can right the ship and start creating the housing that today’s Cape Codders need.
