As anyone in Seattle knows, homelessness doesn't just hurt the homeless -- poor leadership, squandered opportunities and bureaucracy over the long term, hurts the taxpayer as well.

One way to address housing discrimination is by giving low-income families, who are disproportionately low-income, more opportunities to live in communities with greater resources. The Section 8 program is an important tool in that effort, but we need to do more than hand out vouchers to the fortunate few families.

Many American children won't have a safe, stable home this holiday season. Homelessness among families with children isn't an intractable problem; federal rental assistance -- like the Housing Choice Voucher program -- is an effective solution. But funding is seriously inadequate and has faced significant cuts.

Phillip Andrew Morton's latest project, Spanish Lake, takes a serious look at the former, predominantly white-inhabited suburb of St. Louis.