- Scarcity of affordable housing options:
- Most low-income wage earners cannot afford to pay high rents:
- An average worker earning a minimum wage ($11/hour) would have to work 87 hours per week to afford a two-bedroom apartment in the Boston metropolitan area**.
- **Massachusetts Low Income Housing Coalition, http://nlihc.org/oor/massachusetts
- Shared resources go beyond housing
- Tenants can share: Childcare, bills, food, and transportation costs
- Agencies help tenants access services
- Basic Needs benefits (food stamps, cash benefits, clothing, etc)
- Rental assistance,
- utility assistance,
- landlord-tenant mediation and legal services.
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