Winchester Needs Affordable Housing and Here's Why

It's no secret that Winchester has a huge supply of homes worth at least $1 million. With beautiful neighborhoods and a charming downtown, the biggest draw to Winchester is the excellent school system. However, fewer and fewer families can afford to live here. Adding affordable housing offers so much to both low-income families and Winchester residents. 

Winchester has failed to meet the 10% affordable housing requirements set by the state government. An affordable housing proposal for the Waterfield Lot downtown was approved by the Town Meeting, but a resident's petition got enough signatures to cause a special election. 51% Winchester residents voted against the proposal, in favor of keeping parking spaces in the lot. While the proposal has been re-negotiated, it seems that residents missed the many benefits of adding affordable housing. 

Adding affordable housing results in more diversity in our town and schools. Not only does it give families the opportunity to send their children to Winchester's excellent public schools, but kids already in those schools are exposed to different backgrounds. Winchester kids can only benefit from diversity. 

Not only the youth demographic can improve from diversity. Residents of Winchester in all walks of life can widen their worldviews and be inspired to do more good from diversity. Affordable housing attracts businesses and increases jobs in an area. 

There's a serious crisis, not only in Winchester and Massachusetts but all over the country. The supply of homes hasn't kept up with the demand. The Massachusetts workforce is leaving, because they can't afford to live here anymore. People ages 26-35 are the largest group leaving MA, and we need people these ages to complete jobs. Homelessness levels rise, and young families are blocked out of the housing market. Affordable housing offers solutions to these problems. 

Together, we can work on dismantling the myths that come with affordable housing. Let the people around you know all the benefits of affordable housing, and if they're still unsure, direct them to our website: https://sites.google.com/winchesterps.org/win4housing/home. Elect representatives that care about the issue and will advocate to increase affordable housing here in Winchester. Vote to approve proposals for affordable housing when given the chance. 

By doing these things, there is a great chance that the number of affordable housing units here in Winchester will increase. That means diversity will increase and more kids will get an excellent education. Affordable housing has been shown to mean good things for everyone, so let's all do our part to destigmatize it.