Are you trying to understand the Massachusetts Housing Crisis?

Even before the arrival of immigrant asylum seekers in Massachusetts, there were 18,000 homeless people in the state. The numbers have increased as people have been challenged economically during COVID and by recent dramatic rent increases.
At this Housing Forum, Martin Omasta, River Valley DSA member, will give you the story behind these numbers. His preparation was assisted by Watertown City Councilor and Progressive Mass leader Caroline Bays.
Katie McCann, an organizer with City Life/Vida Urbana, will identify protections tenants need now to prevent evictions and increased homelessness. Carolyn Chou, director of Homes for All, will show how cities and towns can win the rent control fundamental to housing security in the state.
Mark Martinez of The Mass Law Reform Institute will show how many new housing units must be built and explain why for-profit developers cannot meet the need. You will be introduced to two housing solutions not well-known in the state. Minnie MacMahon, of Dudley Street Community Land Trust, will explain how CLTs work.
Representative Mike Connolly will introduce Social Housing as proposed in his new bill and by Governor
Healey.
You will hear stories from people facing personal housing crises. You will learn how many people in the Commonwealth are unhoused and which populations are most at risk. You will learn about emergency measures, including rent control, that are needed now, and strategies for implementing them. You will also learn how many new units of housing need to be built to make a significant difference to people who need suitable housing. You will also learn what for-profit developers can provide to solve the crisis. \\Finally, you will learn about two new programs, community land trusts and social housing that provide practical solutions to some of our biggest challenges.
This forum is brought to you by the Mass Progressive Action Organizing Committee (MPAOC); a coalition that includes Franklin County Continuing the Political Revolution, Massachusetts Peace Action, North American Indian Office in Boston, Our Revolution-Massachusetts, Progressive Dems of America-Mass, Progressive Mass, and River Valley DSA. MPAOC is working with Homes for All and City Life/Vida Urbana.

[@Notfunnysam]

I live in Lake Country Ontario Canada. The exact same thing is happening here.

[@PhilipLederer]

Important

[@user-kb1pj7iu6j]

Why can't we as humans realize this is not a local problem.
This is a side effect of the way we are orchestrating capitalism and the unchecked growing power of corporations and business over the welfare of people and a respect for resources.
Americans harnessed the power of capitalism to create a huge growth of 'wealth' for the country and then never thought to put that strive for growth and ever more profits in check. The idea of a company forever increasing its profits and striving for interior growth is what slowly makes less for all, leading to the simple economics of supply and demand - rising costs.
Capitalism is being exploited. Business's and corporations have grown up like a child being rewarded for bad behavior.

[@rodgerasai]

Well, personally, right now I'm more preoccupied with the Gaza Housing Crisis.
But wondering how much of this domestic problem could have been solved with just a small portion of the value of "Aid" sent to Ukraine or Israel the past couple of years.

[@mjones7887]

I mean the housing crisis is pretty simple to understand. Greater Boston since 1990 has seen over 1 million more people move to the area. 1, million people is a massive amount of people for that size we should’ve saw large scale, housing projects. I’m talking about massive cities of new neighborhoods being built. But because of greater Boston restrictive zoning laws, we only saw a very small amount of new housing being built over the 30 years.