Yesterday I shared findings from our new report, Portrait Project 2010, that focused on the housing challenges face by female-headed families in our community. Portrait Project 2010 showed us that this family type is the most likely to live an unaffordable and over-crowded housing, particularly in Montgomery and Fairfax Counties, respectively. The report also showed that while homelessness has remained steady throughout the region, it has dropped significantly in Prince George’s County.
In addition to data and anecdotal evidence, Portrait Project 2010 also includes recommendations for what policymakers and individuals can do right now to help alleviate the barriers to economic security faced by women and girls. The recommendations for housing include:
Policies and Strategies to Strengthen Our Communities
- Create a region that invests in affordable housing for all families.
- Educate policymakers, opinion leaders and funders about the role of affordable housing in fostering economic security for women, especially female-headed families.
- Encourage the region’s governments to work together, along with community-based programs, to increase the availability of affordable housing for families ad different income levels, particularly vulnerable female-headed families with children.
- Empower women and girls to understand their financial options and advocate for affordable housing.
- Enhance awareness of the effect of the current foreclosure crisis on the economic security and stability of female-headed families, and support efforts to assist households that have been negatively affected by the crisis.
What You Can Do Now
- Advocate with policymakers so they support and sustain affordable housing for all, including first-time home buyer programs (particularly those with a financial education component), rental housing and rental and utility assistance that prevents homelessness, and transit-oriented development.
- Become a philanthropist who invests in programs that prevent homelessness and expand housing options for all families.
- Inquire about housing policies in your own community, including how foreclosures are affecting women and girls.
For more information and to read more from Portrait Project 2010, please click here.
