Robert Davis is an award-winning freelance journalist who lives in Denver. His works have appeared in Capital & Main, the Colorado Sun, and the Progressive, among many others.
Cities like Denver, New York, and Chicago are backtracking on promises to take care of the migrants sent their way by Texas governor Greg Abbott. While the programs dry up, immigrants’ urgent need for basic help remains.
Residential occupancy laws, which limit the number of unrelated people who can share a dwelling, enable unjust discrimination and drive up housing costs. A growing number of cities are looking to get rid of them.
Housing vouchers can help people afford shelter. At the same time, they exclude millions of eligible people, open vulnerable tenants up to exploitation by property owners, and empower bad landlords. To end homelessness, we must move beyond the voucher system.
Residents of a public low-income housing project in Denver report that their building is facing profound neglect, calling it a “glorified homeless encampment.” Their story shows that it’s not enough to build public housing — we have to maintain it too.