15 ways FDR and the New Deal helped Americans in need of shelter and housing assistance

A desperate need for more and better housing... 

Above: "God's Shadows," a wood engraving print by Todros Geller (1889-1949), created while he was in the WPA's art program, 1940. According to his Wikipedia page, Geller "regarded art as a tool for social reform." Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Above: The description for this photograph reads, "Child in doorway of shack of migrant pickers and packing house workers, near Belle Glade, Florida." Photo by Marion Post Wolcott, Farm Security Administration, 1939, courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Above: "Marie Beans, over 80 years old who was a slave in her childhood, having no stove in her kitchen must use an old galvanized bucket for a cooking fire to prepare a meal for her little 3 year old great-great grandaughter at Montgomery, Alabama." WPA photo and caption, 1936, courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: "Family living in cave until it was condemned by social workers." WPA photo and caption, Newport, Arkanas, between 1935 and 1943, courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: "Central Railroad Street in Columbus, Georgia, where colored children have only the railroad track as a place to play, and the houses of negro laborers are within 15 feet of the tracks." WPA photo and caption, 1936, courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: "Unemployed pecan shellers living in shanties renting for fifty cents a week." WPA photo, San Antonio, Texas, between 1935 and 1943, courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: "Squatters' shacks along the Willamette River. Portland, Oregon." Photo by Arthur Rothstein, Farm Security Administration, 1936, courtesy of the Library of Congress.

15 ways FDR and the New Deal helped Americans in need of shelter and housing assistance:

1. Affordable Single Family Homes

Above: The description for this 1938 photo reads: "WPA workers here are shown putting finishing touches to the roof, tightening the steel tie rods, and adjusting windows. Low cost housing project. Labor furnished by WPA." This house was part of the "Laurel Homes" community in Fort Wayne, Indiana. WPA workers built pre-fabricated sections in a warehouse, and other WPA workers assembled the homes on-site. The houses were rented to both White and Black families who had been living in congested areas, in dilapidated homes, with no private bathrooms, no hot water, no areas for children to play, rodent infestation, and high rates of disease. New residents to this WPA-built community said, "It is a dream come true," "It's just like a palace," and "I think they ought to build 500 of them and tear down all the fire traps and disease spreaders in town." Also, the new residents "were no longer ashamed to invite relatives and friends to their homes" ("50 Families Start Anew in FWHA Cottages," The Palladium-Item (Richmond, Indiana), March 27, 1939, p. 3; also see, "Overview," Fort Wayne Housing Authority.) Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

2. Camps for the Wandering Homeless

Above: During the Great Depression, many Americans wandered around the country looking for work. This caused a financial burden on state & local governments and charities because they were already dealing with their resident homeless populations. The New Deal stepped in and created "transient camps," where these folks could eat, socialize, work, and receive shelter. Here, we see a transient camp in Omaha, Nebraska, October 1936, and transient workers improving their dormitory with a new downspout. The care of resident homeless populations appears to have been left largely to state & local groups during the the New Deal era, but perhaps sometimes with federal funding assistance. WPA photo, courtesy of the National Archives.

3. CCC Camps

Above: Before enrolling in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), many young men roamed the countryside--for example, hitching rides on trains--in an often fruitless attempt to find work and food. In the CCC, they received paid work, recreation opportunities, three square meals, and a safe place to sleep. WPA photo, taken near Mount Hermon, Louisiana, between 1935 and 1942, courtesy of the National Archives.

4. Public Housing

Above: "Public housing in the U.S had its origins in the New Deal" (Prof. Lily Geismer, "America Needs a New Approach on Affordable Housing. History Offers a Guide," TIME, March 25, 2024). Here, we see the PWA-funded Williamsburg Houses in Brooklyn, New York, ca. 1938, one of the many public housing projects created by the New Deal for lower-income Americans (mostly through the United States Housing Authority). Unfortunately, after the New Deal, the U.S. gradually failed to properly fund and maintain public housing--and failed to improve on the very concept of public housing--and many of the projects fell into disrepair, poverty, and crime. Some of the early public housing projects were exclusively for African Americans, and there were even some mixed-race projects. And for those who claim that the government should not be in the business of housing--that it only makes things worse--it should be remembered that "Survey after survey has indicated that great masses of Negroes are living in substandard dwellings for which they are compelled to pay high rents. They have not been able to get out of these slums and blighted areas, because decent, safe and sanitary homes have not been available to them at rentals within their reach" (American Negro Exposition, 1863-1940, Official Program and Guidebook, p. 21). Many low-income Whites (in fact more, in raw numbers) also lived in wretched conditions. Photo from the National Archives.

5. Homes for Older Folks

Above: Across the nation, the New Deal built homes for the aged. Here, we see "Old Folks' Home constructed by PWA. Ancient sourdoughs will spend their reclining years here." The Sitka Pioneer Home still operates today, offering different levels of care for senior citizens in Alaska. WPA or PWA photo & caption, ca. 1937, courtesy of the National Archives.

6. Homes for Orphans

Above: "These little girls make their own beds in the attractive dormitory of the Orphans' home in Houston, Texas. This building was constructed by PWA." WPA photo and caption, ca. 1935-1941, courtesy of the National Archives.

7. Planned Communities and Homesteads

Above: Across the U.S., its territories, and Indian reservations, the New Deal created new communities for people of modest income. One of these was Newport News Homesteads, later re-named Aberdeen Gardens. Many of these planned communities and homestead communities are still with us today, including Aberdeen Gardens. It is on National Register of Historic Places and is also a "U.S. Historic District." See, "Historical Foundation of Aberdeen Gardens." The above image is part of a longer newspaper article in The Richmond News Leader (Richmond, Virginia), December 19, 1936, and comes from newspapers.com. Used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

8. Low-Interest & Long-Term Loans 

Above: The Federal Home Loan Bank Board Building, Washington, DC, ca. 1937, home of the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC). Through its HOLC, Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Farm Tenant Act, and other agencies, programs, and legislation, the New Deal provided low-interest & long-term loans that saved homes from foreclosure; created the 30-year mortgage market; helped tenant farmers and sharecroppers purchase their own farms; and more. Much criticism has been leveled at these New Deal programs for not providing enough assistance to African Americans. Some of the criticism is deserved, some is not. For more information, see Jake Blumgart, "Redlining Didn’t Happen Quite the Way We Thought It Did," Governing, September 21, 2021; Price V. Fishback, et al., "The HOLC Maps: How Race and Poverty Influenced Real Estate Professionals’ Evaluation of Lending Risk in the 1930s," The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 83, Issue 4, December 2023, pp. 1019-1056; "FSA Aids Farmers To Become Owners; Reduces Farm Tenants," Associated Negro Press article, in The Daily Bulletin (Dayton, Ohio), December 10, 1945, p. 2; and "Some Farm Figures," The New York Age (New York City), December 28, 1946, p. 6 (this article notes a rise in African American farm ownership, in part, due to the New Deal's Farm Tenant Act). Photo above is by Harris & Ewing, provided courtesy of the Library of Congress.

9. Camps for Migrant Workers

Above: The New Deal's Farm Security Administration made camps for migrant workers, to make their lives a little easier. The description for this photograph reads, "Tulare County. View of Farm Security Administration (FSA) camp for migratory laborers. Farmersville. Seen from water tower, showing pre-fabricated steel shelters for agriculture workers. The building at lower left holds toilet unit. Large building in center is camp laundry. This camp is situated in a cotton, grape, citrus area. California." Here is a brief description of what life was like for migrant workers (many of them dispossessed farmers) of the 1930s: "Mass Exodus From the Plains," American Experience. Photo above by Dorothea Lange, Farm Security Administration, courtesy of the Library of Congress.

10. Better Homes for Military Personnel

Above: All across the U.S., New Deal agencies improved military bases, with new or improved facilities. The description for this 1938 photograph reads, "WPA workmen at Ft. Moultrie have done and are doing all types of repair work to the quarters and to the grounds. Ft. Moutrie, S.C. Shot shows row of quarters for non-commissioned officers. WPA has made these homes more livable through renovations." WPA photo & caption, courtesy of the National Archives.

11. Homes for Civilian Defense Workers

Above: When America entered World War II, it needed new homes for workers who were relocating to defense industry areas. The New Deal's Federal Works Agency (FWA), and its component programs, for example, the Public Buildings Administration, were initially put in charge. Here is a FWA house for a defense industry worker and family in Sheffield, Alabama, ca. 1942, one of several hundred thousand that would ultimately be built by FWA and other agencies. Photo from the National Archives.

12. The G.I. Bill

Above: FDR signed the G.I. Bill into law on June 22, 1944. "By 1955, 4.3 million home loans worth $33 billion had been granted to veterans" ("75 Years of the GI Bill: How Transformative It’s Been," U.S. Department of Defense, January 9, 2019). Postage stamp image scanned from a private collection.

13. Disaster Shelters

Above: WPA workers creating a tent camp for flood survivors in Louisville, Kentucky, February 1937. The WPA and other New Deal agencies responded to many disasters with shelter, food, clothes, search & rescue, clean-up, utility repairs, and re-building. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

14. More Humane Jails and Prisons

Above: "A modern jail (bottom) supercedes the old cages on wheels as convict barracks in Carroll County, Georgia. PWA made this improvement possible." The New Deal modernized many correctional facilities across the U.S. Photo and caption courtesy of the National Archives.

15. Jobs

Above: Employment in programs like the WPA helped many Americans keep their homes. Here, we see Walter Donaldson of Orlando, West Virginia, with his wife and children, 1938. Donaldson had a job in the WPA, and also learned to read and write in a WPA education course (in fact, he was the one-millionth person to learn how to read and write in the WPA). WPA photo, courtesy of the National Archives.

"But above all, try something"

FDR and the New Deal did not solve all of America's housing problems... but programs like HOLC, the 30-year mortgage, the Farm Tenant Act, and the G.I. Bill, saved many homeowners and created millions of new ones. More importantly though--with respect to housing, renting, homelessness, and other social issues--we should remember one of the most valuable of New Deal lessons: On May 22, 1932, at an address at Oglethrope University (Atlanta, Georgia), Franklin Roosevelt said, "The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it: If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something."