CAPE ELIZABETH — Cumberland County residents are encouraged to participate in a fair housing survey. Those completing the survey are eligible to win a $100 gift card.

Many residents are struggling to find housing and affordable housing in southern Maine has been a challenge that has left Mainers wondering if there are any other options. Officials say it often takes people months to locate an affordable place to live and many are forced to settle in areas that require a long commute to work.

Cumberland County and Portland are working on a study to determine which residents have the hardest time finding housing and what solutions would work best to address the county’s housing shortage. This survey and other outreach work will help determine how to spend federal funds and will hopefully give Mainers more options.

“The town recently issued an request for proposal for a consultant to pull together updated housing information for the town, with the goal of identifying strategies to increase housing diversity,” said Cape Elizabeth town council chair Jeremy Gabrielson. “After failing to receive any bid on the RFP, we are currently looking both at A.) re-issuing a revised RFP, and B.) establishing an ad hoc committee to advise the town on policies to increase housing diversity.”

Residents are encouraged to participate and complete the survey. Officials say the survey takes about 10 minutes and is confidential.

The survey will be available until March 15 at https://www.research.net/r/CumberlandCounty2021AI?fbclid=IwAR0A6tRKb2bVDnTF4Pv2MDQofz0ra9sMVbcEf8YEXsEF1x1wA9r-FbjslX8.