Hello, Alamo!
I know I mentioned it briefly a few posts ago, a month at least at this point, but I believe in the power of language. As a writer, a long-time lover of English and rhetoric, the way you use words can be beautiful, empowering, and character-revealing.
For example, I and most disabled folks hate person-first language (i.e. ‘person with a disability’). It’s not the absolute worst way non-disabled people try to sugarcoat something that makes them feel uncomfortable, but it’s still incredibly infantilizing. Me, personally, saying ‘disabled’ before my identity (or so goes the justification) makes people confront my reality and see me for who we both know I am.
This is the same reason I much prefer using the term ‘unhoused’ instead of ‘homeless.’ It puts the actual problem in the spotlight. Unhoused people are only a problem because we refuse to give them a house.
According to now-retired CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness Nan Roman, the population of unhoused people was steadily declining every year from 2007 to 2016. But that year it shot up. After the 2008(ish) housing crisis/housing bubble bust, a 2018 article from Marketplace.org notes that credit scores were damaged significantly. Less than 1/3 of those who lost their homes to foreclosure during that time (me and my family somehow beat that) were projected to recover homeownership. Because of the bust, the standards for obtaining a loan increased.
“In the meantime, median home prices nationwide are up more than 50 percent since bottoming out during the Great Recession, which means the housing bust of the last decade has given way to a new crisis for many families — one of affordability.”
Roman said in an interview that as of 2021, the biggest problems were a serious lack of affordable housing, stagnant wages, and a shortage of about 6 million housing units. And why is there such a steep shortage despite about 5 and a half million vacant homes in this country as of 2024? These vacant homes are being used as rentals and aren’t for sale in the first place. This desire for being a landlord just makes housing prices go up even more, according to a study by Lending Tree.
Anyone who is not unhoused this year should thank their lucky stars.
I came in hot today, and this is getting a bit long, so part 2 Thursday. But, a commission meeting is taking place TONIGHT in which Mesilla Valley Community of Hope will be giving a presentation on how a public-private partnership could help Alamogordo put together a shelter or other housing solution to support, again, less than 100 people. I would love to see butts in seats, but if not, I will cover it on Sunday.
Salud!
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