In more than two decades as an advocate, I’ve yet to encounter anyone who disagrees with this basic premise: every child should have a meaningful opportunity to thrive. The harder question is always whether our public policies make that possible. Too often, we consider the needs of children only after challenges show up downstream in the form of chronic school absenteeism, poor mental health, lower academic achievement, or involvement with the child welfare system. But those outcomes are shaped by much larger forces, few of which are more fundamental than housing affordability.

Where a child lives—and whether that home is safe and affordable—shapes access to every other resource needed for a thriving childhood, including high-quality education, health care, healthy food, and safe communities. In other words, housing policy is child policy. And if we want to build a Virginia where children can thrive, we need more homes that families can actually afford.

The latest ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) data for Virginia show that 38% of households were below the ALICE threshold in 2024, meaning they didn’t have enough income to afford their basic needs. For single-female-headed households with children, that number is 72%. This affordability crisis is being driven by rising housing costs and a shortage of hundreds of thousands of housing units. And families with child care expenses—which can surpass the cost of rent or a mortgage payment—experience a crushing financial burden.

The consequences of housing policy extend far beyond the housing sector itself. When families face chronic financial stress, eviction, or homelessness, children bear the burden. Housing instability is associated with poor child health outcomes, worse scores on standardized assessments in reading and math, chronic school absenteeism, and involvement in the child welfare system.

Our affordability crisis isn’t just about those who already have children. It’s deterring young people from starting families of their own. The Voices team recently visited Virginia’s congressional delegation on Capitol Hill along with a group of young advocates. One young person, a student at one of Virginia’s public universities, told congressional staff that he cannot imagine starting his own family because he doesn’t know how he would afford it. The lack of affordable housing is also pushing out the very professionals who are essential for building and supporting vibrant families. We are losing teachers, child care workers, and health care workers because they cannot afford housing. It takes a village to raise a child—but right now our village is prohibitively expensive.

There is no single solution to Virginia’s housing challenges. Tackling this problem requires us to reach across sectors, roles, issue areas, and geographies. As we work together to solve the housing crisis, we should keep in mind an important question: Will this policy make it easier or harder to raise a child?

Virginia is already invested in improving children’s educational achievement, physical health, mental health, economic mobility and safety. Those investments matter. But we cannot keep trying to address downstream outcomes while ignoring one of the most powerful upstream conditions in a child’s life. If we want Virginia to be a place where every child has the opportunity to thrive, we have to build communities where their families can thrive, too.