Events of recent years have caused a growing dysfunction in the housing market for low-income households. As the disparity between income and rents has increased, building and income subsidies have decreased. The increasing number of homeless families is largely the result of this dysfunction. The growth of emergency shelters is the public result of a private struggle waged by many families doubled-up with relatives or paying 50 percent to 60 percent of their income for rent. The visibility of the homeless and media reports of an even larger group of "near-homeless" have heightened public awareness of the housing crisis.

This growing awareness has led to the formation of new coalitions that focus attention on the needs of low-income families. Social service providers have joined with housing advocates, community developers, and government officials in responding to the need for permanent low-cost housing. These coalitions are mainly active at the city or state level, as state and local governments respond to declining federal support by establishing aggressive local housing programs. The philanthropic community is presented with an unusual opportunity to build upon these local efforts, to identify the best among them, to test them for replicability, and to encourage a renewed commitment of national resources to low-income housing.

To achieve these goals, the Foundation has identified three broad approaches. The first is to widen the national debate on low-income housing policy, particularly as it affects female-headed households, minorities, and the homeless. This would be done by:

• building the capacity of national and regional low-income housing policy institutions that prepare and disseminate policy information;

• increasing support for research and policy studies on low-income housing issues, especially as they affect the homeless and others with special needs;

• highlighting state and local housing initiatives that hold the promise of national replicability.