Remaining Candidates’ Plans for Affordable Housing

Remaining Candidates’ Plans for Affordable Housing

Authors: Rachel Walpole

In an era of growth, Tennessee must find more ways to support struggling residents. As housing prices rise, more Tennesseans who don’t qualify for Section 8 are struggling to support themselves and their families. Remaining YIG governor candidates Lucy Pfeiffer and Haley Hamilton propose different solutions to this ever-growing problem. 

     Pfeiffer is currently Youth in Government’s red senate floor leader. While in Spain, she realized that Tennessee’s public transit system is “…completely dysfunctional.” In an interview where Pfeifer explained her views on Tennessee’s housing crisis, she stated, “We need to reform, and I think part of that is helping our lower-income population get to work on time…” When housing rates continue to rise, families must make sacrifices to provide. Pfeiffer notes this and mentions, “If you’re struggling to put food on the table for you and your family, buying a car isn’t going to be your priority.” As more families must make this sacrifice, it becomes more important that Tennessee’s public transit system is reliable and reaches all areas. If someone can’t get to work because they are struggling, it’s hard to pull themselves out of the hole. Fixing the transit system could help the affordable housing crisis; however, there is another solution that could work. 

     Haley Hamilton is currently a Youth in Government Delegate from Memphis, Tennessee. She is passionate about communities coming together to create a better Tennessee. During an interview outlining her plan, Hamilton uses a somewhat personal example: “In Memphis, Tennessee, we have a development center for low-income areas where the housing isn’t the best. Basically, they’re taking these areas that aren’t good and developing them.” She then went into explaining that, “It’s no money from the government. It’s all community action.” Essentially, her plan would be to instill more volunteer plans in community centers that would allow the communities to renovate homes and create safe living conditions in low-income communities. This would help to improve the areas instead of simply building expensive new housing. 

     Both of these Candidates’ plans tackle different areas of the same issue and are based on their personal experiences. Both plans can be implemented to improve Tennessee’s housing crisis; however, only one candidate will be elected Youth in Government’s 2020 Governor.