Affordable Housing Crisis in DC is Heavily Affecting Residents

Commentary by Joy Alexander-Chase. Photo courtesy of CNN.

There’s recently been a decrease in affordable housing in Washington, DC, which strongly affects our community. This decrease is due to gentrification, which has led to higher rent prices. A lot of DC residents are not getting raises in pay, and may be low-income residents, who can’t afford to live in gentrified neighborhoods without government help. The city wants to invest in making neighborhoods more luxurious to raise prices, instead of making them affordable, so that all residents can have a place to live. Decisions like these were driven by the want and need for money instead of doing what’s good for the community.

This problem strongly affects the black and brown communities because of racist policies that create deep segregation. This makes minority communities more vulnerable to rising costs and displacement. The high costs of homes today causes residents to cut back on necessities, and that’s causing a decline in the quality of life because residents can no longer afford things such as healthcare and food.

Everyone in our community should pay attention to how much we and the people around us are affected by the changes around us, like gentrification. We might think it’s a good thing, because it’s leaving us with beautiful homes, but then again, it’s also taking away from others. We should all be aware of what we do for ourselves and how what we do affects others. 

Joy Alexander-Chase is a freshman at Friendship Collegiate Academy.