Traditional housing needs assessments rely on quantitative analyses focused on issues of supply and demand. These studies are not intended to look at the fine-grained details of how individual households manage the trade-offs created by limited resources. This study seeks to provide a more nuanced understanding of the housing needs of low income households in Polk County, including the barriers they face while trying to access affordable housing and the strategies they use in their efforts to remain housed within a context of economic constraints.This qualitative element of the Polk County Housing Needs Assessment study asked two questions: (1) What barriers do households in need of affordable housing face when trying to access affordable housing? And (2) What housing strategies are utilized by income households in Polk County? The findings reported in this study are based on nine in-depth interviews where respondents recounted their personal housing histories and housing aspirations.