Housing

A Detroit veteran of the Navy and the Army was in desperate need of help with his home. All it took was a Facebook post answering the call for help.

City and state officials have begun spying the creeping affordable housing crisis that low-wage earners face when looking for places to live and have worked out solutions. However, these solutions are either not being used or have faced scrutiny that they don't help those most vulnerable to the housing issue.

While the issues of a lack of affordable housing may feel very personal, they are the result of housing trends and market forces far beyond the control of any single person. For as simple as subsidizing the cost of one housing unit might be for government agencies, it won't solve the systemic barriers facing low-wage earners in Detroit - that not enough housing has become cheap over time.

When someone lacks sustainable housing, the effects are wide-reaching and potentially damaging. Without a reliable place to live, other questions concerning hunger, transportation, education, and health care loom much larger. Unfortunately, as one author put it, "rent eats first" and that means all other necessities of living a comfortable and safe life are jeopardized.

For Detroit's lowest-earning renters, living in the city can be difficult. With the weight of expenses bearing down on their finances, unpredictable costs and a lack of affordable housing options can exasperate an already systemic problem for the poorest people in the city and state. The longer investment lags and affordable options dwindle, the more this problem will persist - and bury its victims with it.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced the "Pay as you stay" plan on Wednesday. The housing plan is intended to help residents avoid tax foreclosure by easing the financial burden on the city's lowest earners. About 31,000 residents could help avoid foreclosure with the aid of the plan, which would eliminate all interest, penalties and fees and the only balance due would be back taxes or 10 percent of the home's value. The plan still needs approval by the state legislature.

A duo of Denver residents now living in Detroit are flipping houses in the city - and they're starting with their neighborhood. Keith Bynum and Evan Thomas, two residents of northwest Detroit are purchasing some of the worst homes in the city and fixing them up and selling them. The profits aren't big, but more people are moving into their neighborhood as a result of their pet projects. And they're hiring locals to help with the labor.