Overview – Affordable Housing
Focus Text: Luke 9:51-62
And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
Pastoral Reflection by José Luis Villaseñor, International Program Church Relations, Habitat for Humanity International
Churches can play a prophetic role and raise ethical questions when the complexities of homelessness and inadequate housing are being examined. When confronted with difficult challenges, first and foremost churches must always affirm the dignity of every human being and the right of every person to a habitat that allows him or her to grow into all God intended. We must also remember that God dwells in each person, even the homeless one lacking a place to live. As scripture reveals, “God created humankind in God’s image” (Genesis 1:27).
Personal Vignette by Chris Estes, Executive Director, North Carolina Housing Coalition
Your home, or more importantly, the kind of home you can access, determines or has a major impact on most every other important variable for your social and economic success. Where you live determines where your children go to school and how far you must go for goods, services or employment. The neighborhood around you determines your social interactions and your sense of safety and well-being. The quality of your home also has significant impact on your personal health in terms of environmental factors like lead paint, asbestos, mold, toxins, disease and injury.
Key Fact
Over 2 million North Carolinians face some form of housing problem. This means that they either pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing, live in housing with inadequate kitchen or plumbing facilities, or live in overcrowded housing with more than one person per room (not per bedroom, but per room). Almost 740,000 households do not have and cannot afford safe, stable housing in North Carolina.
