i’d like to address something i heard from CM Eaton at #a2council last night about the affordable housing millage. it may have been echoed by other CMs.

what i heard was a criticism of the millage because it did not provide a path to home ownership.

1/

i have experienced a lot of housing insecurity this year, dating back to november. there were a couple months that i was living in my car, some of the coldest days i took shelter at the warming center in delonis.

not once was i thinking about my path to home ownership.

2/

i was desperately looking for an apartment or a room to rent. i was trying to get off the streets, so i could get some rest, so i wouldn’t have to go through my days constantly sleep deprived. i was taking my showers at the ymca, a process which took an hour each day.

3/

so believe me, i wasn’t wishing there were more single family house available in ann arbor. i wanted to find something small i could call home, ideally a studio apartment or an efficiency.

4/

some homeowners may look at renters and lament that they don’t have a path to homeownership, but not all renters want to buy a home. i don’t. i want the flexibility to be adaptable in a rapidly changing world. if i owned a home, i would not be living a life full of adventure.

5/

i challenge the notion that renters are not living the american dream, because the american dream is different for everyone. when i was in college, my mentor jane goodall wrote me a postcard and said “follow your dreams”. and i have. my dreams are just different from yours.

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