"Opportunity Starts at Home," a short documentary film released this week by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, exposes how housing affordability is central to other national priorities, including health care, food security, education and more.

Cathy Alderman, chief communications and public policy officer for the Coalition, said having a safe place to eat, bathe and sleep at night is the foundation upon which every other aspect of our lives depends.

"It is very difficult to maintain employment, or to maintain attendance at school, if you don't have a home," Alderman explained. "It's very important for your health and for your mental health to have a stable place to be."

The film release is part of a national campaign aiming to open a window for communities, and politicians, to see the far-reaching impacts of the housing crisis, especially on children. As the gap between rents and incomes continues to grow, the campaign wants to correct long-standing racial inequities preventing access to affordable, quality housing for families with low incomes.

The film can be screened online on the Coalition's YouTube channel.

According to the most recent data, 18,000 children on average experience homelessness each year in Colorado. Because getting an accurate count can be challenging, Alderman pointed out the actual number could be much higher.

"Because those are oftentimes the people that are sleeping in their cars, and they often don't want to be found and counted," Alderman noted. "Because they have fears about being separated, or losing custody of their children."

The Coalition is planning additional public events in an effort to convince voters, and their elected representatives in Congress, ramping up federal funding for affordable housing to pre-Reagan administration levels is necessary to meet current and future needs.

Alderman emphasized investments in housing are also investments in children's educational achievement, economic opportunities for families and so much more.

"We need to be investing more in housing and homelessness resolution if we want to achieve better outcomes in the education system, in our health care system, in our criminal-justice system, etc.," Alderman stressed.

As housing costs continue to squeeze Ohio families, Youngstown's mayor warned out-of-state landlords are pushing many out of their homes, undermining children's health, education and futures.

Eviction filings remained above pre-pandemic levels this June, adding pressure to families already struggling with rising rents.

Jamael Tito Brown, mayor of Youngstown, said institutional landlords are buying up homes and hiking rents, displacing families and forcing them into overcrowded living situations or what he called "hidden homelessness."

"Corporations coming in and buying multiple properties, they're raising the monthly rent three times as much," Brown pointed out. "Now, we're pushing those individuals into what we call homeless -- the homeless and unaccounted for -- where now I have to live with my parents or my relatives, because I can't afford the rent."

Youngstown wrestles with a poverty rate more than double the national average. More than one-third of its residents live below the Federal Poverty Level.

More than 25,000 students across Ohio are experiencing homelessness, which disrupts their learning and development. Brown noted rising rents and limited affordable housing are having an effect on kids' access to food, education and emotional stability.

"The house last year that would cost you $175,000 may cost you $200,000 this year," Brown emphasized. "If I want to build a home, maybe I can't afford $200,000; I can afford $175,000. So, those are things that we want to talk about, and we want to make sure that our federal leaders understand."

Children's Defense Fund-Ohio reported one in six Ohio children, or about 430,000, live in poverty, and more than 500,000 face food insecurity, exacerbated by families' high housing-cost burdens.

Brown argued stronger renter protections, expanded housing vouchers and nutrition support will be essential to reverse the trends.

Housing advocates in Nevada are criticizing Gov. Joe Lombardo's decision to veto what they call essential housing measures.

Anwar Green and other Nevadans said they have struggled to find adequate housing and fear the governor's actions may just have intensified the problem. Green pointed out he was in support of Assembly Bill 223, which would've given Nevada renters more power to hold landlords accountable as it relates to habitability but it was vetoed by Lombardo.

Green noted for some time, he rented a place with a roach infestation.

"They were in the drawers, they were in the refrigerator," Green recounted. "You ever had roaches chilling in your refrigerator? No pun intended. They were even in the stove, and the infestation in my stove was so bad that they had to remove the stove, which they never replaced. So now I had a big hole in my kitchen with wires exposed."

Green added fortunately, he no longer lives there but no one should have to endure those types of conditions. Among the other measures vetoed was Assembly Bill 283, which would have reformed the state's summary eviction process by requiring landlords to file with the court after providing tenants a seven-day notice. In his veto message, Lombardo argued the measure would have lopsided the eviction process and put heavy strain on the courts.

DeWayne McCoy, pastor for Faith in Action Nevada, is also founder and CEO of the hybrid grocery store The After Market, which also serves as a food pantry for those in need. He said he has seen firsthand how food insecurity can be a challenge for Nevada families to navigate, many of which also face housing insecurity.

"This is an issue that we cannot allow to continue to grow," McCoy stressed. "It is already a wound that is too big for a Band-Aid. Every single month, you can see them gathering in different places in the community because they have failed to pay rent or something has happened and they've been evicted for whatever the reason is."

Lombardo signed Assembly Bill 540 into law, which establishes the Nevada Attainable Housing Fund and Council and directs $133 million to develop subsidized housing. Advocates said more needs to be done to help low-income Nevadans.

Los Angeles faces a severe shortage of affordable housing but Monday, the city is asking a judge to put a hold on a lawsuit which aims to clear the way for new development.

The City Council approved permits three years ago for the Venice Dell complex, which would provide new housing units meant for low-income families and people experiencing homelessness. However, developers have yet to break ground on the project. The lawsuit, filed by the LA Forward Institute and community members, claims LA Council member Traci Park and City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto have deliberately held up the project.

Katie McKeon, attorney at the Western Center on Law and Poverty, said the developer has made many concessions but the city continues to drag its feet.

"The developers made some design tweaks to take away some of the architectural features that many residents didn't like," McKeon noted. "They have committed to construct a parking structure replacing every single one of the parking spaces that's currently on the lot now."

Council member Park did not respond to a request for comment but has previously argued for a transportation hub in the area. City Attorney Feldstein Soto has criticized the project as too expensive. The Coastal Commission already approved the Venice Dell project but the City Transportation Commission opposed it. The city has not moved to tear down an aging building on the site.

McKeon claimed the city is working against its stated goal to ease the housing crisis.

"The city is spending quite a large amount of money to not build housing because they are defending all of these lawsuits that are saying, 'You should be building this housing. Why are you not building this housing?'" McKeon observed.

The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles has filed two additional lawsuits seeking to compel the city to allow Venice Dell to proceed.