Sheila Crowley of Low-Income Housing Coalition

It’s a phenomenon of sorts that for years various associations have dedicated themselves to ending the affordable housing crisis, and the crisis just keeps on growing. The latest setback for those whose mission it is to house the low-income population came toward the end of July. That was when the Senate Banking, Urban Affairs and Housing Committee passed a regulatory reform act without hoped-for provisions for an affordable housing fund. While the House version of the bill included wording for a fund, Sheila Crowley, president and CEO of the Washington, DC-based National Low Income Housing Coalition, says that it may not hit the level of greatest national need. Nonetheless, Crowley sees both developments as only a temporary setback. In a recent, exclusive interview, she discussed why she maintains optimism for passage of the fund, but gave us her take on why the crisis continues to be just that.

GlobeSt.com: How do you rate your success to date?

Crowley: I would say it’s mixed. If you look at absolute numbers, the housing circumstances of the very poor are still in a crisis state. From a federal-policy perspective we’ve made some important inroads in terms of establishing the programs that bridge the gap between the number of low-income people and the number of housing units. But it’s certainly nowhere near enough to stem the loss of units that low-income people can afford, and it doesn’t close the gap that still exists.