It’s important all year, but the concept of “home” seems to be everywhere as we approach the end of the year. In the coming weeks, Americans across the country will return to the place they call “home,” invite friends and family to join them, and gather in their houses for the holidays. In fact, for the last 10 years the fall season has even begun with Housing America Month, which underscores the importance of supporting the public resources that strive to put safe housing within everyone’s grasp.
It’s especially easy at this time of year to believe that all of us will experience “home,” but numbers tell a different story. Across the country, nearly 650,000 people will sleep on the street on any given night. And Santa Barbara is not immune; in the 2017 Point in Time Count, volunteers identified 790 homeless residents within the city limits alone.
Housing America Month recognizes the power that public housing, which provides a home to more than 2.3 million people, and other affordable housing programs have to battle this epidemic. Unfortunately, these important resources are not receiving the attention they need.