Affordable Housing - A Foundation for Community

Benefits to the Community

 • Affordable housing is good for families. Well-kept, reasonably priced housing provides children with a safe and healthy place to live. Children who grow up in stable housing are more successful in school, and are physically and socially healthier.

• Without affordable housing, families are forced to pay more than 30% of their income for housing or live in overcrowded, substandard conditions. Lack of affordable housing is a major cause of stress in families.

• A lack of affordable housing stifles economic growth, creates worker stress, and generally impacts the quality of life in our community.

Even if you don’t need affordable housing yourself, the problem can still affect you directly –

• People with fixed incomes can feel secure about affording their living situation (ie.  retired persons who receive a pension).

• Think about all the people in your day that probably work for minimum wage. These workers have to spend 45% of their income to rent an average one-bedroom apartment in Fredericton (plus bills).

• Our community can’t operate without people working in all sectors.  Affordable housing provides the opportunity to all people working in Fredericton to live in Fredericton.

• If people have to travel an hour to work, they don’t have time to be involved in their communities.

(Adapted from information by “The Workforce Housing Coalition of the Greater Seacoast”, NH, USA, www.seacoastwhc.org)