When people tell the story of America, they often talk about national leaders, historical events and major milestones. 

But America's story has always been written closer to home. 

In many communities across the country, housing programs operate in silos. 

Emergency shelter exists in one space. Transitional housing exists somewhere else. Homeownership programs sit separately from rental assistance. Financial capability services are often disconnected entirely. 

Marietta Rodriguez, president & CEO of NeighborWorks® America, joined a panel of housing leaders Wednesday to talk about the state of housing in the United States. The panel followed the release of the State of the Nation’s Housing 2026 report from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, which sponsored the event and highlighted continued affordability challenges, subdued housing activity, rising economic uncertainty – and hope. 

At first glance, it looks like a modest apartment building tucked into downtown Anchorage. 

But inside The Adelaide, operated by NeighborWorks Alaska, the work happening every day is much bigger than housing alone. 

During a recent site visit to Alaska, leaders from NeighborWorks® America toured the single-room occupancy property, known as an SRO, to better understand how supportive housing models are helping residents experiencing homelessness and housing instability find safety, stability and community. 

The sun shone brightly over the playground near Betsy Ross Circle in Milford, Delaware.

For many organizations across the NeighborWorks® network, housing conversations center around affordability, supply and rising costs. In Alaska, those conversations also include isolation, shrinking population, disappearing industries, extreme weather conditions and the reality that even keeping existing affordable housing ready residents can feel fragile. 

More than 400 tribal leaders, housing practitioners, health organizations, community development professionals and national partners gathered in Anchorage, Alaska, this month for the Housing Our Relatives Summit, a first-of-its-kind convening focused on

A treasured historic landmark in Houston has been restored, thanks to Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation (CRC). The NeighborWorks® network member organization, with its partner Cloudbreak Communities, recently transformed the former St. Elizabeth Hospital in Houston from a vacant shell to a flourishing apartment community named St. Elizabeth Place.

Nearly one in four homes in Maine is at least 85 years old. As housing costs climb and aging homes become harder to maintain, residents need innovative solutions to avoid displacement. 

When a for-sale sign goes up on a piece of undeveloped land in Austin, Texas, everyone looks – especially if it’s near jobs and schools. That includes for-profit developers, of course. And it includes Foundation Communities, a NeighborWorks nonprofit that is looking to build and grow its affordable multifamily apartment homes as the community struggles with ever-increasing rents.