Homes For Working Families

Media Room

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Homes for Working Families?

Homes for Working Families is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing policy changes that enable more of America's working families to find safe, good-quality homes they can afford.

Homes for Working Families works in large metropolitan areas across the country to assemble coalitions of influential stakeholders — employers, civic leaders and policy-makers — to initiate policies and programs that address the lack of affordable homes in their communities. We arm these coalitions with research-based tools to advance locally viable solutions that help teachers, nurses, office workers, firefighters and others find affordable homes in the communities where they work.

What is unique about Homes for Working Families?

  • We focus exclusively on working families — young families and the families of nurses, firefighters, teachers, police officers, retail associates, bank employees and others who cannot afford to buy or rent in communities near their places of work.
  • We promote and help implement policy solutions that bring homes within reach of working families.
  • We unite players new to the challenge with traditional housing advocates to build coalitions of powerful champions addressing the issue.
  • We change outdated perceptions by helping people understand that homes within reach of working families can be well-built, well-maintained assets to the neighborhood and that the residents of these homes can strengthen the community.
  • We sponsor research to better understand the environment, to inform our strategies and to educate people about the value of affordable homes.
  • We concentrate simultaneously on public policy-makers and business executives at the local, state and national level.
  • We provide research-based resources and tools to enable business, civic and community leaders to champion homes within reach of working families.

Does Homes for Working Families work to change local, state or federal policy?

Homes for Working Families is a national organization that concentrates primarily on changing local policies — policies in cities and counties around the country — by working through coalitions of business, civic and community leaders. We also encourage local employers to implement employer-assisted housing programs so more employees can live closer to their place of work. In addition, we work simultaneously with a smaller number of policy-makers, stakeholders and media in key states and with national reach to prompt needed policy change at the state and federal levels.

Is this effort designed to increase the availability of affordable homes to purchase or to rent?

Our intent is to change policy so that there are more homes that working families can afford to buy or to rent, based on their needs and desires. Rental homes can be the first step on the path to homeownership. Owning a home has the added benefit of helping build assets. Renters face many of the same challenges homeowners face. Nationwide in 2003, 19 percent of the more than 33 million households that rented their homes paid more than 50 percent of their income on rent.

What will success look like?

Ultimately, success will mean that more working families will be able to buy or rent good-quality homes within their financial reach, as well as within reach of jobs, schools, transportation and services that make a community strong.

Long-term success will mean:

  • Broad recognition that this expanding problem is affecting everyone and that there are solutions that are working.
  • Active citizens, employers and elected officials understand the benefits and support the inclusion of affordable homes in all neighborhoods.
  • Across the country, policy-makers and employers implement policies and practices that increase working families' access to homes within their reach.

In the shorter term, success will mean:

  • More business leaders and employers support increasing access to affordable homes for working families.
  • The number of policy-makers who include the issue among their priorities increases.
  • Solutions are identified and successfully replicated in various metropolitan areas across the country.

How does the lack of affordable homes for working families affect those who already own homes?

The urgent home affordability problem affects everyone, even those who already own a home.

Today, one in every seven families — a record 17 million families — spends more than half its income on housing. Families earning a middle income cannot afford middle-priced homes. Many people you know — people important to you, and to your family, your company and your community — are affected by this problem.

Local economies are suffering. Communities that don't include homes within reach of working families face a potential loss of jobs and revenue because employers are less interested in locating where their employees can't live.

Families are suffering. Commuting time for workers all over the country is growing, leaving families with less time to spend together and children home fending for themselves for too many hours every day.

Does Homes for Working Families build homes, provide home loans or offer other services to consumers?

Homes for Working Families does not build homes or work directly with prospective homebuyers or renters. We do not provide grants, financing or any other type of financial support to organizations or individuals. Instead, we focus on advancing policy changes that make safe, good-quality homes affordable for America's working families. We bring policy-makers together with business, civic and community leaders to address this issue. For example, in some regions, we may work with legislators to reduce regulatory barriers to affordable homes, and, in others, we may encourage employers to adopt home-assistance programs for their employees.

Consumers can access links to helpful information about the home-buying process here.

Where can I find examples of policies and practices that have successfully increased access to affordable homes around the country?

In-depth studies of policies, programs and developments that successfully address the shortage of affordable homes can be found here. Additionally, we have published two policy research reports entitled Increasing the Availability of Affordable Homes: A Handbook of High-Impact State and Local Solutions and Solving the Shortage of Homes Working Families Can Afford: Fifteen Success Stories.

We will continue to publish on this site policies and practicies that could be adapted or adopted in many regions across the country. These examples demonstrate the value of affordable homes to families and communities. They showcase creative ideas and innovative techniques. They affirm that feasible, practical solutions to the seemingly intractable home-affordability problem do exist.

What can I do to help?

There are many ways that you can help increase access to homes within reach of working families.

Individuals can encourage the development of homes within reach of working families in their neighborhoods. They can talk about this issue at their next community association or PTA meeting. They can write letters of support to local public officals or newspapers. They can educate citizens, decision-makers and the media about the need for homes within reach of working families and the fact that solutions exist that can benefit their communities.

Business leaders can highlight the issue in their institutions' publications, reiterate the message in public appearances, champion policies that increase access to homes working families can afford with their elected officials and encourage peers in the business community to offer assistance to workers trying to find safe, quality homes they can afford.