Home Coalition working to ensure that people in Southwest Florida have access to housing, transportation that costs less than 45 percent of their income
I am a small business owner with restaurants in Naples, Fort Myers and Cape Coral that employ good, hard-working people. One of the biggest obstacles our team struggles with is finding and keeping a home that falls within their budget. Our restaurants pay significantly above the minimum wage, because hard-working people deserve to make a good wage, but they still struggle to make ends meet. Having a home isn’t just about keeping a roof over your head, it is the basis for family prosperity and community economic growth.
When people have a decent place to live near their job, it’s a win-win. When my team have access to homes within their budget, near where they work, they are better positioned to contribute to the local economy. They spend less time stuck in traffic, which means more time for family and doing things they love. It means they are more likely to spend their earnings locally, supporting small businesses across Southwest Florida.
But this is not a reality for so many people across our region. Access to housing that families can afford has reached crisis levels, pushing many into a cycle of housing instability and financial strain. Too often, families are forced to live in substandard, overcrowded conditions, or are burdened by long commutes in traffic each day, simply because they cannot afford anything better. This not only undermines their health and wellbeing, but also lowers their ability to fully participate in the workforce.
And let’s not forget people juggling multiple jobs just to make ends meet. That means less time with family, less time to learn new skills and less time to support local businesses. It’s a vicious cycle that leaves too many folks feeling stuck and left behind.
Small businesses are important to our economy and employ most of the people in our communities. When people who work for small businesses have trouble finding a good place to live, it causes big problems. Employees grappling with the challenge of finding housing in their budget experience higher stress levels and lower job satisfaction, resulting in increased turnover rates and reduced productivity. It’s also harder for small businesses to find and keep good workers when housing costs too much, holding back innovation and slowing down economic growth.
