As a Pacific Northwest transplant, I found it nearly impossible to find a single-room apartment that was affordable, despite working full time and being college educated. Even now, I reside in a unit that is 50 percent of my income, yet I make “too much” to receive housing assistance.
Evermore frightening, I work daily with populations that are worse off than myself; families and individuals living on fixed incomes, without the resources needed to succeed. In 2019, Clark County’s population of homeless seniors increased dramatically from 2018, and this is continually on the rise due to increased cost of living.
These seniors have worked their entire lives and have contributed to society just as they were expected, yet their pensions and Social Security are no longer comparable to the rising costs of everyday resources like housing, food, transportation and medical expenses.
As a community, it is imperative that we vote and advocate to increase and maintain affordable housing in order to keep our seniors housed — while also creating a future where we can grow old without fear of where we will sleep, and if we will survive. Visit https://www.wliha.org/ to get involved.
