To the editor:

Serving on the City Commission is a rewarding job, but balancing priorities among many needs is never easy. I am glad our current leaders have accepted the challenge in regard to two issues identified by hundreds of people working together in Justice Matters: mental health and affordable housing. 

In making the decisions on what and how much to fund, I want to encourage the commission to do everything possible to dedicate an adequate revenue stream to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Affordable housing is one of the most basic needs a city must provide people if they are going to call it “home.”

Communities that have invested in an Affordable Housing Trust have found it to be an economic driver that leverages additional funds and not a “drain” at all. The nationally recognized speakers at the recent Tenants To Homeowners Housing Conference, both emphasized this point. Both gave numerous examples of towns that benefited from the use of these important tools. Investment in an affordable housing trust fund is a way to improve both the economic and social health of Lawrence.