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Editor's Letter

Chipping Away at the Towering Issue of Housing Affordability

CUs may only be making a small dent in the issue of housing affordability, but their efforts are well worth it.

Sample ADU unit This sample ADU unit, located in Ocean Park, Wash., is displayed on Consolidated Community CU’s flyer for its ADU loan program.

For many Americans, the housing system that’s currently in place, which should be designed to provide viable housing options for people of all income levels, flat out isn’t working.

During a recent interview, Larry Ellifritz, president/CEO of the $244 million Consolidated Community Credit Union in Portland, Ore., shared an anecdote that many parents with kids entering the workforce might relate to. He said his college-age son recently told him that after graduating and getting a job, he wouldn’t be able to afford living in Portland. “That was when it first hit home for me, that [affordable housing] is a problem,” Ellifritz said. The average monthly rent for an apartment in Portland (at an average size of 762 square feet) is $1,457, according to RentCafe.com.

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Natasha Chilingerian

Natasha Chilingerian

Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.

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