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Why Arizona Has A Shortage Of Affordable Housing

Arizona has one of the highest shortages of rental homes for low-income tenants in the country.

That’s according to  numbers from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, which shows no state in the U.S. has an adequate supply of such housing.

Joan Serviss, executive director for the Arizona Housing Coalition, said a major reason for this shortage is the lack of federal and state funds toward keeping housing affordable.

→  Arizona Ranks Third Worst For Affordable Housing

“At the state level, we need to encourage our lawmakers and decision makers to restore some of the same cuts that happened before the recession … bring back some of the funding to make sure that everybody has that safe, affordable place to call home.”

According to Serviss, an average employee earning minimum wage would have to work at least 56 hours a week to afford a one-bedroom apartment in Maricopa County.

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Lauren Gilger, host of KJZZ's The Show, is an award-winning journalist whose work has impacted communities large and small, exposing injustices and giving a voice to the voiceless and marginalized.