Diana Lacey: Homelessness forum full of compassion, strong feelings

To The Daily Sun,

Recent public sessions about people suffering from homelessness and housing insecurity captured a lot of compassion and strong feelings of anger, worry, sorrow and more. Living in this region for over 40 years, raising my kids and loving seeing my grandkids here too, and thinking about our political spectrum and their respective policy positions, these things have given me an ability to see our life here across many dimensions.

The housing market pricing evolved; now exceeding median income for the county. Readers are feeling it at every age demographic and income level (but for the wealthy), whether trying to buy or sell or just afford our property taxes.

The housing inventory is too low and any growth coming are just high end prices. This is leaving too many of us housing poor and stuck.

The age demographics are lopsided with a majority being 65 or older, holding onto their family homesteads, unable to afford downsizing but need to for health reasons. Young families struggle to find affordable starter- and family-sized homes.

The poorest among us are stuck in between these factors and have little options to remain housed, as more fall to the streets to live.

Society can do better if we thread a solution across demographics, including considering public-private partnerships that are community led (not corporate-private equity led). Some readers would welcome a way to invest locally into a pathway that could stop the lopsidedness and bring viable balance back to the housing market and community services ― something less risky than the stock market. Let's start a thought (idea building) group to tackle this complex dynamic. Representatives from our local community development nonprofits, housing, banking, health and behavioral health, as well as aging and family serving organizations would be needed too. Let's work together.

Diana Lacey

Belmont