The Cambridge Housing Authority has over 21,000 discrete applicants on its various wait lists. In order to humanize this dismaying number, CHA has created a publication called “Stories of the Can’t Wait List,” a collection of powerful narratives from real people experiencing hardships and dwindling hopes from years spent on CHA wait lists to secure a home in one of the most in-demand and expensive real estate markets in the country.
Of this publication, CHA writes, “It is easy to throw out numbers and data points when talking about the dire need for affordable housing both nationally and locally. We hope this publication can put a face and voice to those numbers. We urge you to consider their stories when thinking about affordable housing in Cambridge and the United States.”