Regarding the homeless issue, lack of affordable housing should be at the top of the list. 

Classes on budgeting are great but if the person does not earn a living wage, he cannot afford most public housing in the Oxford-Lafayette County area. 

It has been decades since this area has built decent affordable housing and now it is in the process of eliminating low-income housing. 

The residents of Riverside have received another notice of closing. Income-based housing is based on your actual income, meaning your rent can be from $0 and up. Subsidized housing has a base amount you have to pay, meaning rent can begin at $300/$400 and up. Income-based housing has a waiting list yards long, and available units are limited. Some have been designated for university students, which decreases slots for born and raised Oxford-Lafayette County residents. 

Oxford-Lafayette County needs to invest in the people of Oxford-Lafayette County. 

There are a lot of reasons a person can become homeless, some due to no fault of their own. However, when Oxford-Lafayette County creates these situations by displacing citizens to build a strip mall, add student housing, or expand a store, it should also create a remedy.

Lena L. Ward

Oxford