Homelessness is a serious problem not just in the U.S. but in the whole world. It’s a human right to seek and own shelter, and it’s staggering to think that millions of people worldwide are struggling to gain this inherent human need for themselves. There are many ways government and non-profits worldwide are solving this problem. But experts believe that this problem can be solved by the main reason it exists, through purchasing power.
Everyone, even those in poverty, has purchasing power. However, there are legitimate discrepancies with people’s purchasing power, and the solution is not to equalize everyone’s purchasing power but rather empower it by making things more affordable. One way to do this is by building smaller homes.
Smaller Homes
American homes are considered to be the biggest in the whole world. Nowadays, many build even bigger houses and sell them to appeal to the American dream. Instead of doing that, we should be making the American dream less glamorous but more affordable to everyone by building smaller homes.
Homes don’t even have to be as small as apartment complexes. They just have to be toned down a bit. Sure, we like our space, but the size of our homes doesn’t matter if we’re going to be paying for its mortgage for the rest of our lives. Smaller homes can bypass this hurdle.
Once we start building smaller homes, it can become part of the norm. The public can then accept these homes. They are more affordable to everyone as well. Lowering our standards of the American dream isn’t all a bad thing. It will help many more rise from homelessness.
Maintenance-free Homes
People who have newly bought their homes and people in the low socioeconomic bracket should have access to free home maintenance in the first few years of their purchase. Home maintenance is the main reason people struggle to keep their homes, and it’s one of the main reasons why houses are so expensive in the market.
When a dilapidated home is sold back in the market, home flippers purchase them immediately. They then put a lot of money and effort into making these homes as luxurious as possible. They then sell the house back to people at a hefty price. This makes home a lot more expensive to purchase.
By giving homeowners free maintenance, they are able to keep their homes for many years to come. The government can subsidize these costs by cooperating with local interior painting companies and cleaning companies. These two home services are enough to keep a home looking clean and presentable with years to come. Moreover, house flippers won’t be needed when these homes go back to the market, which means that more affordable homes are available to everyone.
Concentration in Redlined Communities
Redlined communities are considered the worst when it comes to homelessness, and sadly, some of it comes from racial disputes many years ago. It’s been found that non-whites are more likely to be homeless than whites, and our concentration on these communities should be paramount in solving homelessness.
We can solve the problem within redlined communities by giving them access to government initiatives specified to their needs. We’re talking about down payment subsidies and fairer housing laws. This isn’t a battle that’s fought outside the streets but inside the senate. The more senators that get into fairer housing laws, the more non-whites can have access to the better purchasing power of homes.
Moreover, support towards non-profits should also increase. These non-profits are on the front lines when it comes to solving homelessness, so they should have increased government support.
Better Jobs
Lastly, we can start solving the homelessness problem by addressing the unemployment rate in the country. We should also give better benefits to our employees, and housing benefits should be one of them.
Companies should at least consider helping their employees in purchasing a home. We’re talking about working with lenders to get a fairer price for employees. Companies can even shoulder home down payments to make it easier for their employees to purchase a home at a much lower risk.
Furthermore, the government should be doing initiatives that’ll help people retain their work. Seminars and professional help can come a long way in fixing the high turnover rates of employees, especially those within the low socioeconomic bracket.
Fixing homelessness is about giving people the power to purchase affordable homes. It’s also giving them the power to earn from themselves and teach them to have the necessary savings they need for a rainy day.
