'We've got to stem the bleeding': Addressing the Outer Cape’s housing crisis

What happens when an idyllic seaside town prices out those who keep it running?

“A coffee shop is nice to have. But a fireman or a policeman … we are a community where the average age is well advanced compared to the state as a whole,” said Wellfleet resident Gary Sorkin. “So just someone to take care of you, so whether it’s a home health aide … in all the ways that older folks get taken care of. Those resources are becoming more and more scarce.”

Sorkin leads the Wellfleet Local Housing Partnership, which promotes affordable housing in the town by fundraising, building awareness and coordinating and collaborating with existing departments and groups within the town focused on the same goals.

Over the past decade, Wellfleet has been the fastest-growing town on Cape Cod, with a year-round population increase of approximately 30 percent, according to a Cape Cod Commission report using U.S. Census numbers.

Read the Cape Cod Times article here.

Valerie Wencis Boston University Statehouse Program