Who is impacted by the lack of affordable housing in Maine?

Everyone.

Whether you are a candidate running for office, an employer trying to hire people, a recent graduate wanting to settle in Maine, an older adult on a fixed income, a parent making less than $25 an hour, or if you have experienced bankruptcy, or homelessness — finding an affordable place to live for yourself, a colleague, constituent, or a loved one is keeping you up at night.

Rental vacancy rates in Maine are less than 1% in many areas. This cuts off opportunities for movement in the market, and has created the environment we are now in with escalating rents. Winter is fast approaching and the number of people living unsheltered outside is at a peak level.

What’s the solution to all these things so all Maine people have a home?

More housing.

Maine needs safe, quality, affordable places that are available to rent or purchase, with options for specific populations that need support to be successful — particularly those who need help with mental health, substance use disorder, or aging in place. We’ve seen the data; Maine and the nation haven’t been investing in or building enough housing for our population and household sizes for decades.

The housing crunch is not going away without bold action. Current production will not meet the need. More people are moving to Maine than we are building. More than 16,300 people moved to Maine last year, and only 6,800 building permits were awarded. Four out of five of those permits were only for single-family homes.

That’s why the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition is launching the HOMEforME pledge. A package of four solutions, because everyone in Maine deserves a home. A commitment to these best practice legislative approaches will build a foundation for addressing Maine’s housing crisis.

Solution: Incentivize New Housing Construction. We can only address our housing crisis if we build more units. That’s why lawmakers need to support a suite of reforms that incentivize building everything from small accessory dwelling units to larger affordable housing projects.

Solution: Pass a Housing Infrastructure Bond. Like our roads and bridges, housing is infrastructure. Housing supply has not kept up with demand. We’ve built only 250 units of affordable housing annually on average. The need is 1,000 units per year. There are over 25,000 people on affordable housing waitlists statewide. We must invest in building more units.

Solution: Cut Red Tape to Improve Land Use Laws. Local zoning matters. Our housing crisis was created by federal, state and local zoning policies over generations. Statewide zoning action can address the patchwork of laws across our state and provide more equitable access to housing.

Solution: Using Existing Buildings and Land for Housing. Leverage already developed sites in commercial zones or underutilized areas to get all Maine people housed.

Laura Mitchell is executive director of the Portland-based Maine Affordable Housing Coalition.