Come on out to the next ACEH Program: Holland's (Un)affordable Housing

You are a retail clerk, a teacher, a chef, a worker at a local manufacturing plant. You are single, married, with children or without.  You work in Holland--but you can't find an affordable place to rent or buy, so you commute miles to work or you double up with area friends and family.  You are a local employer, but potential employees turn down your job offer because they can't find a place to live here.

 On Thursday, October 11, at 7 p.m. at Holland City Hall (270 South River), the Alliance for Cultural and Ethnic Harmony (ACEH) will host a program, "Holland's (Un)affordable Housing," to help bring the issue into focus for the wider community.

 Ryan Kilpatrick, executive director of Housing Next, will give an overview of what the housing crisis looks like today and the work the organization is doing.  The event will include panelists on how the lack of affordable housing is affecting local agencies and employers.  There will be time for Q&A and statements from people directly affected by the cost of housing here.  And, there will be refreshments!  ACEH board member Annette Manwell will facilitate the program.

 In Holland, and Ottawa County, people in need of rentals have struggled for years to find housing that suits their needs and matches their income. For them, relief from unaffordable housing can't come soon enough.  A recent proposal for a mixed-income rental development in downtown Holland was defeated by a 5-3 vote in city council.

"It is not just those you see on the street corners with signs, but individuals who have jobs and are one paycheck away from being homeless," ACEH board member Viola Jackson-Cleveland said.  "When you have to decide on dinner or paying rent, that is a sad statement for our community."

It's the age-old problem of supply and demand. The rental supply is not meeting the demand, driving up rental rates. Civic leaders recognized the problem in 2014 and began to collaborate to address the need. In early 2015 the team finalized the Ottawa Housing Next document with data supporting the need for affordable housing. This study shows that while poverty plays a role in the need for affordable housing, the reverse is also true: the lack of affordable housing is creating poverty.  Housing Next was implemented in November 2017.