The affordable housing crisis has reached epic proportions in America. The lack of affordable housing nationwide has led to a plethora of problems including homelessness, lack of education, and health problems. The phenomenon of the working poor is another issue associated with this problem. It is americans who work daily sometimes two or three different jobs but still do not make enough to meet the cost of living. The Housing Policy in the United States is in dire need of reform, the number of people that are homeless is increasing; the working poor are falling lower and lower below the poverty line. The lack of adequate affordable housing is a pressing issue in Rhode Island and America alike.

In the following links you will find a more complete definition of what affordable housing is, some federal government initiatives, specific facts about Rhode Island and what is being done there to alleviate the housing crisis, and finally a look at homelessness as one of the most devastating and visible effects of the housing crisis.