Melva attended a meeting by a non-profit where she gained this information.

– A lot of people have to pay more than 30% of their income for housing. Many are paying 50% of their income for housing. The people who serve our community, police officers, teachers, etc. are the people most cost-burdened. If you can’t pay for housing, you can’t go to the theatre or the movies. When we cannot afford extracurricular activities it affects other people’s careers (ex. The people who work at movie theatres.)
– Sb34b bill – concentrates on affordable housing. Cities need to also accommodate travel between housing developments. Many cities are creating apartment complexes.
– If families move around to find affordable housing, kids have to move from school to school. Elderly and special needs need places to live with facilities for supporting services. 61% of people in the US had to make at least one financial sacrifice. Skip bills, make one late, pay it next time, etc.
– What are some of the answers?
– The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints donates money to help the homeless communities. She imagines that other churches as a group try to find ways to feed the people in need. There is a community garden in Orem that helps people.
– Tax credit – if you build an apartment complex and you fill it with low-income individuals, you will get a tax credit.
– Vouchers – 1.5-year wait to get into housing. People get panicky. HUD only has 1000 vouchers per year.
– Melva invites the group to discuss how we might meet some of these challenges. The letters below represent names.
– When P lived in Japan, the apartment buildings were very tall and the apartments were very small. There were dividers in the apartments that could be open or closed depending on the time of day.
– j is working on a project related to this. She’s seen people create homes in metal storage containers. Earthships – sustainability for food, temperature, it works (check online). Trade work. Self-help seminars. She’s experienced these and it helped her catapult her life from where she came from.
– p – tiny home communities
– w – make it easy for people to build apartments in their homes and an easy way to evict them if there are any issues.
– We need to keep in mind the cleanliness of the area. The city should provide restroom facilities or provide dumpsters where things can be kept clean.
– j – Airbnb, looking for income-producing activities for families – side hustles/entrepreneurship. Have some of those jobs concentrate on these areas of needs.
– Which might be of the most profit? Each has its challenges and benefits.
– j – self-help seminars reach the masses. It provides a support system. Share job leads with each other.
– r – the major problem is the capitalistic system is pro-money-making. Land prices are outrageous. Zoning is also a problem. Provo has a person who spends all their time finding people who have Airbnb. The cities need to realize the Airbnb situation is good for both the homeowner and the individual renting.
– P – to enact change start showing up to city council meetings – citizenship. Start running for office.

Consensus – we can each vote three times. Voting by members. Narrowing down into a few choices. Places to concentrate our epic energy.