Need for Affordable Housing on Lopez?

The problem is not only a matter of dollars. It is a matter of the supply of decent, safe and sanitary housing on the Island. Looking around the Lopez community, one easily finds multiple examples of sub-standard housing. Those are just the examples that are readily visible from main roads. Go deeper into the woods and you will find people living in school buses and shacks without basic plumbing. Many of the renters on the Island must find alternative housing in the summer when the owners return or rent it out for higher rates. This substitute housing usually means camping on a friend’s land or overcrowded alternatives, even those near impossible to find. An estimated 70-120 additional rental units are needed for households already living here.

Confronted with the rental property shortage, what is the current workforce faced with? And, what are the difficult decisions to be made by individuals and families?

• Do they accept substandard housing with possible detrimental health consequences?
• Do they approach family or friends to accommodate them on a short-term basis and postpone decisions?
• Do they move off-Island and incur extra cost in terms of time and income?
• Do they quit their job and move away?
  Do they not seek any job opportunities on Lopez at all?
• And for local businesses, how can they continue to operate with a shrinking and struggling workforce?

Increasing the supply of affordable rentals on Lopez is just one part of the solution to this huge and complex problem, which threatens the wellbeing of our island community.

Housing Lopez is working aggressively to solve this problem by building permanently affordable rental housing for families with lower incomes.

Help us make a difference today.