Abundant life: Secure dwelling places

Secure dwelling places: A home for everyone

The U.S. is in the midst of a housing crisis, with more than one million families losing their home to foreclosure in 2008. The invisible backdrop to the crisis, however, is the millions of Americans who struggle to find affordable rental housing. This problem is particularly acute along the Gulf Coast, where thousands of housing units have been destroyed.

Washington Office resources:

• Washington Memo: Secure dwelling places: A home for everyone – background, worship, and advocacy resources (2009)
• Sample letter on housing
• Guide to predatory lending
• Abundant life campaign
• MCC Washington Office blog
   

Washington Office articles:

• Houses without people, people without homes
   

Additional websites:

General housing:

• National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC)
• NLIHC Out of Reach 2009 - information on housing affordability in local areas across the United States
• NLIHC Advocacy Guide 2009 - detailed overview of all U.S. housing programs
• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Housing
• Coalition on Human Needs: Housing and homelessness
• The State of the Nation's Housing 2009
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (Dec/Jan 2009 report)
   

Homelessness:

• National Coalition for the Homeless
• The National Alliance to End Homelessness estimates related to the economic recession
• Facts and figures: The homeless (PBS)
• A study by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty
• The National Alliance to End Homelessness: Homelessness counts
• Child homelessness: National Center on Family Homelessness