Affordable Housing Quotes

“it is hard to argue that housing is not a fundamental human need. Decent, affordable housing should be a basic right for everybody in this country. The reason is simple: without stable shelter, everything else falls apart.”
― Matthew Desmond, Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City

“We saw an inventory problem, where there weren’t enough houses for people. Because there weren’t enough houses, the high demand meant housing prices went up. We recognized this isn’t just a problem in Laie and the islands, but a problem everywhere all over the world. #tinyhomes”
― Richie Norton

“...a lack of affordable housing in rural Scotland is perhaps the biggest issue threatening the viability of communities today. This situation is not new but since house prices really took off some 20 years ago, there is asense that the issue has now become existential. Lack of employment is often similarly highlighted as a major issue, but thanks to the social security system most people can manage, to some degree at least, a period of being unemployed or under employed. In contrast, without adequate and secure accommodation people very quickly have to leave their home communities in search of housing, more often than not in distant towns and cities - even if, as is often the dase, they have a job offer locally.”
― Jamie McIntyre, Reforesting Scotland 67, Spring/Summer 2023

“Homelessness isn’t a reflection of individual failure; it’s a systemic issue rooted in decades of neglect in critical areas like affordable housing, mental health care, and education. (Texas HB 1925: Criminalizing Homelessness Is Not the Answer – blog)”
― Carlos Wallace

“Universal housing is about permanently guaranteeing a home for everyone. The similar models that exist offer either affordable housing or temporary shelter, which don’t directly tackle the core violation of paying for a human right. Every person born deserves a roof over their head, not a waitlist, limited program, or temporary bed.”
― Kristian Ventura, The Price of Being Human

“Many in response to free shelter say “not in my backyard.” Concerns for one’s community are understandable, but society is often too quick to assume a person who enters a community automatically brings danger and disorder. A stable home gives a person a place to sleep and exist. All neighborhoods deserve safety and care. But it’s contradictory for rights to be a demand for ourselves and a privilege we deny others. A neighborhood is made of people. And every person deserves the chance to be part of a safe, cared-for neighborhood too. Therefore, you cannot say a neighborhood deserves safety while denying safety to the people who make it a neighborhood. If someone paid for your home in full tomorrow, would you instantly become the neighbor you fear? Of course not. You would be the same person, just without rent. Shelter doesn’t change a person’s character, only their cost.”
― Kristian Ventura, The Price of Being Human

“Many in response to free shelter say that it’s unfair they worked hard for their home and we give it to someone else for free. But we do not deny children public education because earlier generations had less access to it. We do not deny medical advances because people once suffered without them. The fact that someone experienced hardship is not a reason everyone after them should do the same. A better future meant for everyone is not created at the expense of someone else’s harder past. The goal is not to punish those who bought homes or paid rent. It is to make sure housing is treated as a human right.”
― Kristian Ventura, The Price of Being Human