Housing Security: A Section 8 Memoir

I believe that housing is a human right. In the United States, a very wealthy country, there is no excuse for homelessness. Section 8 of the housing act that established public housing was revised in 1974 to create an excellent new program. The new Section 8 program provided federal funds to help households afford the rent in existing housing. The program also gave developers assistance to create new or renovated affordable housing. I was an advocate for the program when it was enacted in 1974, and I proposed a successful amendment allowing large families to pay only 15 percent of income for rent.