The lack of affordable housing continues to be a crisis in Colorado, with no end in sight. A recent poll identified affordable housing as the Number One issue among likely Denver voters.
But the problem is not isolated to the Front Range: Over 6,000 households in the Eastern Plains, 9,000 households in the Central Mountains and 32,000 households in the Western Slope are weighed down by the cost of housing.
This crisis destabilizes the health and well-being of individual Coloradans and families by crowding out spending on other necessities, keeping them from saving money to cushion against an emergency and sometimes pushing them into homelessness. Studies consistently show that housing instability negatively affects children’s academic performance, mental health and long-term financial security.
