DENVER — Tight finances are forcing more young adults to move back in with their parents.
One in three adults between 18 to 33 years old are currently living with their parents because of high rent and inadequate income, according to new numbers from the resume building company Zety.
Mile High United Way of Denver said it's also seeing 51% of renters in Colorado are cost burdened.
Denver7 spoke with a woman involved in the research who said it’s not only having financial impacts, but emotional ones as well.
"[Young adults] want to be able to be more secure, financially secure, and more independent," Zety's Jasmine Escalera said. "And this is impacting them, not just socially, but it's also impacting them professionally. Many of these young professionals do not want to say at work, hey, I happen to live with my parents or I live with family members. This is something that you don't feel comfortable disclosing.”
Why don’t they feel comfortable disclosing it? 55% thinks it hurts their credibility and 43% fear it’ll block a promotion.
So the question becomes, what’s being done about this?
On Friday, Colorado's youngest voters opted to talk with state politicians — not to complain, but to offer solutions.
Denver7 sat in on what was called a Young Invincibles Shark Tank that took place in Denver.
It brought three teams of college-aged students in front of a panel of judges that included Colorado Senator Katie Wallace, D-District 17, as well as other state leaders.
If you’ve ever seen the show Shark Tank — where entrepreneurs pitch their ideas for funding — it worked in a similar way.
Denver7 chatted with Sen. Wallace and one of the students participating in Young Invincibles Shark Tank — Kay Quintana, who’s a junior at University of Northern Colorado (UNC) in Greeley. Quintana and her team spoke about housing affordability and how they think our state legislature should address it.
“There is a very large gap in data when it comes to homelessness within college students, but there is data out there that proves that college students who are unhoused don't finish college, so it's a huge issue, and I hope that truly, more than anything, it's just awareness to the topic," Quintana said.
"[Young people] don't always engage," Sen. Wallace added. "Young people aren't always given space like this, and so when they come it feels particularly valuable, because they kind of have to represent their entire generation.”
Some of the proposals included more funding toward affordable housing, particularly for college-aged kids who feel burdened by student loans.
Wallace told Denver7 she intends to implement what was offered at the shark tank into discussions at the capitol.
