Florida has housing crisis

Hearing from people with lived experience of homelessness was important to representatives of the Florida Housing Coalition who are helping the Volusia-Flagler County Coalition for the Homeless update its strategic plan.

Family Renew Community participated in that effort by pulling together a focus group of four moms and a dad who are staying in Family Renew apartments with their kids while they work to lift their families out of homelessness. Not surprisingly, these parents told stories of an affordable housing crisis.

In its 2021 report, Housing Matters, the Florida Housing Coalition documented this crisis throughout the state. Here are some quick facts from that report:

  • Before COVID-19, 875,259 very low-income Florida households—including hardworking families, seniors, and
    people with disabilities—paid more than 50% of their incomes for housing. There were over 70,000 fewer severely
    cost-burdened very low-income households in 2019 compared to the year before.
  • Florida has the third-highest homeless population of any state in the nation, with 27,640 people living in homeless
    shelters and on the streets.
  • Low-wage jobs are prevalent in Florida’s economy. In many occupations, workers do not earn enough to rent a
    modest apartment or buy their first home.