The ability of American citizens to afford safe and decent houses is becoming a critical issue due to population increase over the past few years. This is mostly affecting people whose salary is comparatively low since they cannot afford to buy their own houses. According to statistics of National Coalition for the Homeless organization (2009), 672000 homes were built in 2010 but the number was still below the required rates to cater for the population. Weak economy has been pointed out as the reason which stands behind lack of decent housing. Funding cuts to federal programs especially to the low-income earners help in providing affordable and decent houses.
Homelessness is a major challenge the U.S citizens are facing. This is mainly caused by poverty (Stars 2011). According to statistics of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, 2.3 to 3.5 million people living in America face this situation every year (Martin Donohoe 2011).
The majority of states affected by homelessness include Hawaii, Oregon, California, Colorado and Alaska. African Americans were found to be the most affected with 42%, while the Asians are less affected with 2%, whites were also affected with 39% (Ugarriza and Fallon 2004). The Native Americans and Hispanics were also found to be less affected by lack of homes by the National Law Center on Poverty and Homelessness (Fiedman 2010).
Housing problems were mainly recorded in urban areas, with 71% of homeless people living in central cities. The homeless people in rural areas were 9% while those in city suburbs were 21% (Wolf, Goldfader and Lehan 2009). The situation has forced people to move in together as friends and families. This happens mostly among jobless people and those earning low salaries. According to statistics by Census Bureau there were 398,000 household formations in 2009 ( Wilfried and Carl 2009).
The population growth has resulted in housing crisis as demand for houses is higher than the available number. Lack of financial support to constructors has led to the same issue. The federal programs are designed to help the homeless. This is achieved through building home shelters and housing repair to increase the number of housing facilities. However, the programs are not efficiently run in providing funds to appropriate home seekers. This makes the situation worse as the number of people without homes increases (Blau 2010).
The problem of lack of houses needs to be addressed to avoid critical situations in the future. The implementation of housing trust funds is one of the programs seeking to find a solution to this problem. These funds are used to improve housing facilities which are then allocated to the people (National Association of Realtors 2011). The program has been employed in various cities in the US since cities were indicated to be mainly affected. The cities include Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, Colorado, California, Illinois, Oregon, Texas, and Wisconsin (Kosof 2009).
Housing trust funds are given to the landlords after a given period. The funds play a major role in the development of the economy. The landlords like most investors can reinvest, with the funds allocated to them, into other properties. This involves carrying out maintenance and upgrading the houses (Scow 2010). This increases the value of the property hence the tax levied increases. The area in which the property is located is upgraded making it easier to be restored.
Mortgage repayment can be made using funds from the landlords. This makes the property operational, that avoids vacancy and foreclosure. In addition they can invest in various businesses including housing repairs, groceries and local restaurants using the funds leading to job creation (Martha, Laudan and Edgar 2010).
Trust funds offer a great investment opportunity which has led to economic development. Over the past years the fund has held treasury securities. The funds are flexible, thus enhancing development by renewal of expiring contracts when the budget fails (Blau 2010). This is achieved after annually resource dedication by the city. The funds lack financial resources to provide and support social services. However it’s flexible enough to allow partnership with other sectors which enhances its ability to cater for its tenants (Veiller 2010). The investments made by the funds are safe as the government makes sure there is no default.
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