Why Share Housing

The problem

• Scarcity of affordable housing options:
  • Only 1500 new affordable units will be built in the next 5 years.*
  • *Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center Report for FY 2016, http://www.massbudget.org/reports/pdf/budget_monitor_governor_fy17.pdf
• 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

The solution

• 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.