NORFOLK, Va. — Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) has introduced legislation to help address housing issues and affordability.
The ACCESS Act would direct federal agencies to help connect people on Medicaid to housing resources.
"We're finding a lot of folks might have eligibility for housing services who are on Medicaid, but they're not aware of it," said Kaine.
Watch related coverage: Record number of Americans, including some in Hampton Roads, struggling to pay rent
Federal data shows about 1,000 more people in Virginia experienced homelessness in 2023 compared with before the pandemic.
"Housing is a really important issue and only getting more important. I would say it's kind of a top three issue wherever I go in Virginia now," said Kaine.
At HELP, Inc. in Hampton, Executive Director Matthew Stearn says over the winter, they saw a 25-percent increase year-to-year in people coming to their shelter.
"We all know that rent has gone up tremendously. The price of housing has gone up tremendously and the incomes that our clients are often receiving aren't significant enough to be able to afford what is considered affordable housing in our area," said Stearn.
Norfolk
Norfolk church could be turned into affordable senior housing
A recent report from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies found nearly half of people who rent spent more than 30-percent of their income on rent and utilities.
Stearn likes the intent of the bill, but says policymakers need to take more actions to help address housing.
"Anything we could do to stabilize housing is going to help us in the long run when it comes it comes to healthcare costs, health outcomes, those sorts of things," said Stearn. "While I think this is a good step, I think we do need to see some actionable items come from it."
