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February 29, 2008, 12:00 PM ET
Housing Crisis Linked to America's Impoverished Counties
As America’s home-foreclosure rate soars, a new study by the Bread for the World Institute shows the connection between the housing crisis and poor communities.
“In almost every state, we find subprime mortgages in high-poverty counties make up an astonishingly high percentage of all home-mortgages loans,” writes Todd Post on the blog. of the Washington antipoverty group.
Mr. Post, who is editor of the institute’s reports on hunger, warns that the housing problems will increase other economic needs in those areas.
“Hunger is an ever-present risk in these communities, a risk sure to be exacerbated by epidemic numbers of foreclosures. I’m not sure any of us have really come to grips with what this will mean in communities and for the nation as a whole,” he writes.
In a recent Chronicle article about the foreclosures, nonprofit leaders said the problem is a tricky one to fix.
“When something comes up as quickly as this issue has, there isn’t always the infrastructure in place to address it,” said Bob Eckardt, senior vice president for programs and evaluation at the Cleveland Foundation.
What do you think? What can charities and foundations do to help the housing crisis? Click on the comments link below this post to share your thoughts.
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