I was so happy to read in a recent Press Herald editorial (“How to fill an immediate need for Maine housing” July 1) that municipalities are finally starting to come up with creative and useful ways to address the housing problems in Maine. Recent articles about affordable housing going up in the Greater Portland area may have misled us all to think that the housing crisis was being solved, and so perhaps we don’t have to worry about it. But right now, “affordable housing” is defined as being affordable for households making 60 to 80 percent of the area median income, which is $76,014.

At Maine’s current minimum wage of $12.75 an hour, a year’s pay is $26,520, nowhere near the income needed to pay these “affordable” rents. We need to redefine affordable housing to include minimum wage earners, the people who keep our economy going and keep the supply chains moving. People who work at your favorite shops, restaurants and local businesses are leaving the area because they can no longer afford to rent or buy housing, and consequently, businesses are shutting down or limiting hours due to staffing shortages.

If we don’t want to have more signs on business doors saying “closed due to staffing problems,” then towns need to look at all the factors that created the housing crisis for workers before this problem completely cripples our workforce.

Robin Elliott
South Portland