Understanding today's housing crisis

Social Work Advocates, the magazine from the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), quoted Amanda Aykanian, assistant professor in the UB School of Social Work, in a story about the housing crisis in the United States. Experts say the crisis is driven by a shortage of affordable housing and a widening gap between income and housing costs. “Communities across the country, not just the big cities, are dealing with massive housing shortages overall, especially for affordable housing. Additionally, this is often happening in the context of population increase within those communities. As demand increases, the supply rarely keeps pace,” says Aykanian.

The report also highlighted Aykanian’s National Homeless Services Workforce Study, which uncovered hurdles facing social workers and other professionals who support individuals experiencing homelessness. 

“I want to see more social workers in the homeless services sector. In our workforce survey less than 20% of respondents had a degree in social work,” says Aykanian. “I think we as a profession need to take more seriously our role and potential in preventing and ending homelessness. Homelessness is a complex social problem that is impacted by factors at the individual, community and system levels. Social workers are trained to think about issues through this multilevel lens, which means they can be beneficial across a range of needs.”