PHOTO: The MultiCare Foundation's Hope Grows Here project encourages people, from the safety of their homes, to join them by volunteering and making contributions that support family, friends and neighbors.
GTCF is spotlighting areas of need that have been surfaced through PIERCE COUNTY CONNECTED, an aligned philanthropic response to COVID-19 and the necessary public health measures to address it.
For more than a decade, housing prices in Pierce County have continued to rise at a much faster rate than the wages of most residents. From 2012-2017 the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment increased by 49%, while the increase in average median household income was only 4.4%. As a result of this disparity, accessing affordable housing and shelter has become increasingly difficult.
Over 40% of renters in the City of Tacoma alone are classified as "rent burdened", and over 12,000 Pierce County residents experienced homelessness in the past year.
Now, in the face of a pandemic that requires citizens to shelter in place, the need for access to adequate housing in our community has become more evident than ever.
"This pandemic is teaching us that housing is necessary not only for individual health, but for public health, if you don't have secure housing all other outcomes are in danger."
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