Affordable Housing

Affordable housing is typically made available to households that make no more than 80% of the area’s median family income.  Housing becomes unaffordable when households spend more than a third of their take home income on housing.  In Beverly, the median family income in 2005 was $57,800 for a single person and $82,600 for a family of four.  Examples of people who live in affordable housing include:

• elderly people
• people with disabilities
• veterans
• families
• teachers
• firefighters
• police officers
• other municipal employees
• minimum-wage earners
• non-profit employees
• retail employees

Why Affordable Housing?

The availability of quality, affordable housing is closely tied to a number of other issues including:

• Health of families
• successful location and retention of employment
• academic performance of children.

Young people living in inadequate housing are at a much higher risk for:

• asthma
• lead poisoning
• malnutrition and anemia, due to a family’s inability to afford both rent and food

Unstable housing also affects adults in a variety of ways that prevent them from breaking the cycle of poverty.

• Their sources of income may be limited
• Frequent moves may jeopardize employment
• Lack of money to spend on work-related items such as appropriate clothing, transportation,
  training, and childcare

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