| Coloradocommunitymedia.com

Friday, April 26, 2024

SPECIAL SERIES: The Long Way Home

Colorado has an affordable housing crisis.

People across the metro area are struggling to afford a place to live. Minimum wage earners might spend upwards of 60% of their paychecks on rent.

We dedicated one newsroom, two dozen journalists and more than seven months of in-depth reporting to explore what makes the path to finding a home such a long and daunting journey.

WEEK FOUR: The Search for Solutions

Week 4 Editor's Note: State leaders, communities search for solutions

For a month, our reporters and editors have brought you stories of your neighbors, your would-be neighbors and even people who struggle to survive under bridges.

Call to Action: Gov. Polis stresses more housing is key to Colorado’s economic health

If lawmakers don’t act to make housing more affordable now, “we will soon face a spiraling point of no return, according to Gov. Jared Polis.

Aldjia Oudachene and, her husband, Idir Ouarab, pose with their children, Yacine and Anais, at their home in Littleton. Originally from Algeria, Oudachene applied to Habitat for Humanity Metro Denver for a home in Littleton, where average home prices have gone up $300,000 between 2017 and 2022.

The Missing Middle: Cities where six-figure salaries can’t buy homes

Aldjia Oudachene’s Littleton home is “a wish come true.” The house is close to the school bus stop, near work and even has a guest room where Oudachene’s father stays when …

A train running along the G-Line departs the Arvada Olde Town station.

Metro Growth: The Hidden Cost of Urban Sprawl

Drive along the interstate into Colorado from its eastern side and the rolling plains slowly transform into vast hills of lights. Shelley Cook, a former director with the Regional …

A Tiny Home: The battle over tiny homes in Colorado began with a bill

For some Coloradans, the American dream is a spacious home. For others, the dream looks different — and the house, smaller. Much smaller.

Fighting the Odds: Woman goes from being homeless to an apartment

Lisa Hojeboom has a new place to call home. It’s a one-bedroom apartment near Chatfield Dam complete with a walk-out basement and a washing machine.

WEEK THREE: A Complex Series of Trap Doors

Week 3 Editor's Note: The most vulnerable of the housing crisis

Our monthlong series exploring housing turns to one of the most perplexing issues facing our communities: the lives of those who have no home.

Chris Laney, who works at Jake's Brew Bar in Littleton, has struggled to afford living in his community.

The Cost of Housing: High home prices, lack of supply sever metro residents from communities

When Chris Laney moved into his new three-bedroom home last summer, he felt like he’d won the lottery. After more than a decade of chasing the cheapest rent across the metro area, the Littleton bartender finally has a house to call his own.

David Hernandez pays government-subsidized rent for his one-bedroom apartment, where he lives with his dog.

The Voucher System: The difficulties of using housing choice vouchers

About a year and a half ago, David Hernandez received a call from a number he did not recognize. When he called the number back, he heard news that would drastically change his housing …

Jonathan Townshend Garner, 35, lost his legs to frostbite after spending days covered in snow while homeless. Now, he hosts open mic night at Cactus Jack's Saloon in Evergreen where he also performs.

One Paycheck Away: Homelessness is a series of trapdoors of addiction, low wages, laws and health care obstacles

Jonathan Townsend Garner spent nine sleepless nights in 2017 covered in snow staring up at the bottom of a frozen overpass in Aurora. Just a few short months before, the 35-year-old was …

WEEK TWO: The Changing American Dream

Week 2 Editor's Note: The changing American dream and the obstacles some people face

The first week of Colorado Community Media’s Long Way Home series focused on what many experts say is a housing crisis across the metro area.

Racial Inequities: Black Coloradans often face barriers in homeownership

A few years ago, Aurora Warms the Night, an Aurora-based nonprofit serving people who need housing, ran into a challenge when assisting its Black clients in applying for apartments. When the applicants visited properties, landlords denied their applications. This happened over and over again.

Homes sit in an upscale neighborhood in the south Denver metro area.

A Look at the Suburbs: Map experts dig for roots of racial separation in metro Denver neighborhoods

In 1967, Black Americans were mired in “the long, hot summer.” Frustrations over poverty, unemployment, discrimination and myriad other issues spilled into the streets, leading to clashes with police, even arrests, in many places, including Denver.

As affordability and accessibility continue to create obstacles, Americans are redefining the

A New Vision: American dream changing for some Coloradans

Amber Carlson is a Colorado native. She loves the Denver area for all its amenities — from outdoor recreation to the arts-and-culture scene. But with so many other people moving to the region because they also love those things, Carlson would consider moving away.

WEEK ONE: How We Got Here

The Long Way Home - Colorado Community Media examines the impacts of the housing crisis

People across the metro area are struggling to afford a place to live. Minimum wage earners might spend upwards of 60% of their paychecks on rent. Many Millennials, now entering their 40s, have …

Shelley Gilson, a 50-year-old single mother of three girls, calls Orchard Crossing Apartments in Westminster home.

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