In this July 21, 2020, file photo, a homeowner tours his new home, in Washingtonville, N.Y. Two studies released Wednesday, June 16, 2021, found that the nation's housing availability and affordability crisis is expected to worsen significantly following the pandemic, likely widening the housing gap between Black, Latino and white households, as well as putting homeownership out of the reach of lower class Americans. Credit: John Minchillo

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When I was in high school, I had a friend who I would hang around with a lot. She didn’t come from a family like mine with both parents around and owning the house her family lived in. One day I heard her family was being kicked out and her mom didn’t have the ability to house her anymore. As her friend I wanted to do what I could to help her, so I talked with my family and convinced my parents to take her in.

In some ways, this is a story so many children face, the threat of being on the street, but in others, it’s not, someone coming in to try and help. Ultimately, this is a story about a group too little mentioned in discussions of unhoused people, children, and how we all need to be the kind person to extend a hand to someone in need. Not just as individuals either, but as a concerned citizenry.

That is why I am urging lawmakers and community members to support LR 2154, “An Act to Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue to Construct Affordable Housing.”

Lucca Hamina

Orono