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Housing Affordability
An issue relevant to sustain Idaho communities is the
affordability of housing for everyone who lives and works in
Bonner County. To understand how increasing housing costs impact
Idaho communities, a team of Extension professionals developed a
housing affordability index. This index differs from others in
that it examines the actual cost of a "starter home" that would
represent a home attractive to first time home buyers. We
defined the starter home as a single family home with three
bedrooms, 1 1/2 to 2 baths, a small yard and garage or carport.
We determined that the availability of an affordable starter
home would impact a community's ability to attract new teachers,
service workers and others earning a communities median income
or less. Housing affordability impacts Bonner County because the
county has many natural amenities that are attractive to people
who enjoy outdoor activities and those who have income enough to
purchase a second (or third) home. Like other communities in
Idaho with natural amenities like lakes, forests, mountains, and
striking natural beauty, Bonner County has experienced rapidly
increasing housing costs. Unfortunately, median incomes have not
kept pace with those costs. This has created a crisis for many
families, especially those who work in service sector
employment.
To download the housing affordability study, click
http://www.cals.uidaho.edu/edComm/pdf/BUL/BUL850.pdf
Inclusive Communities
University of Idaho Extension uses a systems approach in
community development that included poverty reduction as one of
its main components. Extension's approach to poverty reduction
included increasing community awareness of poverty and its
impact on families, community businesses, community schools and
infrastructure and the future sustainability of Idaho
communities. Included in this approach is inclusive, broad based
leadership development and support of poverty reduction efforts
including the Horizon Project and Circles of Support. In Bonner
County, anti-poverty efforts conducted through the Extension
Office focus on the Circles of Support Initiative. To Learn more
about Circles of Support, contact Susan Traver at 263-8511, or
straver@uidaho.edu. In
addition, The Bonner County Extension office publishes a
newsletter about poverty and its impact. To download the
newsletter, Class Matters, click on
Class Matters.
Idaho's Journey for Diversity and Human Rights is a
traveling workshop exploring this historical roots of Idaho's
people and their human rights challenged of the past and
present. The workshop is offered up to twice a year, and has
focused on topics such as Native American issues past an
present; women's suffrage in Idaho; the role of Japanese
internment camps in Idaho history; the impact of the Aryan
nations on Idaho's legal and political system (Idaho was one of
the first stated to enact anti-hate legislation in the United
States); and the role of Chinese labor in building Idaho's
infrastructure. To learn more about Idaho's Journey, or to
register for the next workshop, click on
http://www.agls.uidaho.edu/idahojourney/
Idaho
Journey Program Flyer
Idaho Journey
Program Registration
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