Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy has released a series of reports on housing insecurity focused on six counties in Arizona.
THE BROKEN LINK Experiences of Housing Insecurity in Yuma County is one of them.
Through interviews and focus groups, researchers sought to find out how people living in Yuma County were experiencing the rental and housing markets.
It’s a timely question – since 2020 rent and housing costs have increased more than they did the previous five years combined in Yuma County.
Wages have gone up but add in inflation across the board for everything from food and gas to childcare and utilities, making rent and mortgage payments is a challenge for people.
42 percent of renters in Yuma County struggle with this and nearly 25 percent of the homeowners.
That struggle is part of the definition of housing insecurity.
Liza C Kurtz is a research analyst at the Morrison Institute. We spoke to her about The Broken Link and what they learned from Yuma County residents, and what can be done about it.