6 million
people live
in substandard
housing built
before 1950.

 Since 1980
-the Reagan years-
the federal
budget for
housing poor
families has
been gutted.

There is
a deficit
of 117,000
affordable
housing units
in Chicago. 

 

 In 1993,
41.5% of
unsubsidized renters paid
more than 30%
of their income towards rent;
21.1% paid 50%
or more.

 5.3 million
Americans
face worst case
housing needs
(meaning they
pay 50% or more
of their income
towards rent).
This number
has gone up
20% in the last
twenty years.

 50% of the
1.4 million elderly renters have incomes less than 30% of the area median income.
Of these low-income households,
45% receive
no support
whatsoever: no
housing assistant,
no TANF, no general
assistance, no SSI. 

One-third of
the 10.9 million american
families
that are renters
have incomes
that are less
than 30% of
the area's
average
income. 

 35%
of the
homeless
are
families
with children;
requests at Chicago
shelters
were up
21.9% in 1997.

 

 The Chicago Housing Authority's
waiting list has 50,000 names;
the Section 8
waiting list has 35,000 names -selected from 100,000
applicants.

 Out of every
five people
that qualify
for low cost
housing
benefits,
only one
actually
gets them.

  87% of
renters
cannot
afford to
buy a cheap
house in
their area.

 Over the last
twenty years, the average incomes
of the lowest income families with children fell more than 20% nationwide;
in contrast, the
average incomes
of high-income families
increased by
nearly 30%.

 Two-thirds of
all working poor renters, who receive no
housing
assistance,
pay more than 50% of their income for rent and/or live in
substandard
housing.
 

 

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