The hurricanes dramatically uncovered problems in one ravaged region, but if we open our eyes a little wider, we will see that the social and economic problems created by lack of affordable housing exist throughout the United States.

This is especially true in many fast-growing areas such as the Coachella Valley, where the cost of both rental and for-sale housing is increasingly beyond the financial reach of a growing portion of our local population.

Adding to the housing problem in our state is the fact that funds from Proposition 46, which raised $2.1 billion to finance both the for-sale and rental affordable housing, has about a year to go before it runs out of money.

When that’s gone, there will not be any dollars at the state level to fund affordable housing — or any kind of housing for that matter.

County and local governments certainly will not be able to pick up the tab, since they continue to struggle to fix their roads and pay for adequate police and fire protection.

Considerable thought has been given to creating a perpetual housing trust fund to continue the important work started under Proposition 46, something which has been done successfully in Florida.

Point of no return

We must give that idea serious consideration. Also critical is for government and its agencies to cultivate more active partnerships with strong entrepreneurial nonprofit enterprises and private sector entities — partnerships that have demonstrated remarkable success in providing more affordable housing to diverse segments of our population from farmworkers to police officers.

As a society, we unfortunately continue to think of quality housing in nice neighborhoods as a privilege, something that should be available only for those who can participate in the “ownership society.”

But if we in California — state government, county and local governments, public institutions, private industry — don’t begin to address the affordable housing issue in meaningful ways, it will be virtually impossible for young people and professionals such as teachers and nurses to save enough money to buy a home and share in the cherished American Dream.

Whatever we do, here in the Coachella Valley, in Southern California and throughout the state, we must begin to do it now.

Copyright (c) The Desert Sun. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Gannett Co., Inc. by NewsBank, inc.

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