Statement by National Housing Conference President on Mayors' Hunger and Homelessness Study

12/18/2002

From: John Bohm of the National Housing Conference, 202-466-2121 ext. 222, e-mail: jbohm@nhc.org

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 -- Following is a statement by Michael Pitchford, president of the National Housing Conference, regarding today's announcement on hunger and homelessness by The United States Conference of Mayors:

"Today's announcement of a new study on hunger and homelessness by the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), a member of the National Housing Conference (NHC), helps reconfirm the important connection between the increase in the number of homeless Americans and the serious lack of affordable housing in this country. According to the study released by USCM, requests for emergency shelter assistance grew an average of 19 percent in the 18 cities that reported an increase -- the steepest rise in a decade. The survey also indicates that participating cities were most likely to attribute homelessness to a lack of affordable housing. In fact, of the 25 cities that participated, 21 attributed homelessness directly to a lack of affordable housing.

"This announcement while clearly tragic is not at all surprising. Last month, NHC's research affiliate the Center for Housing Policy released a compelling study entitled America's Working Families and the Housing Landscape which found that between 1997 and 2001 there has been a 67 percent rise in the number of households spending more than half their income on housing. USCM's President Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston indicated that NHC's report showed 'now, more than ever before, it is clear that the housing crisis is not going away, and that without a major new national commitment to housing production, the crisis is only going to get worse.'

"Accordingly NHC supports USCM's call on Congress and the Administration to enact a national housing agenda. We also would recommend that Congress review and act on the detailed roadmap for solving our nation's housing crisis that was provided by the bi-partisan, Congressionally-appointed Millennial Housing Commission."

Formed in 1931, the National Housing Conference (NHC) is the nation's oldest public policy and housing advocacy organization. A coalition of affordable housing experts from the public and private sectors, it is an essential source of broad, nonpartisan information concerning national housing policy. For more information on NHC and its publications, go to http://www.nhc.org.