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NEW VOICES FOR AFFORDABLE HOMES
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| Campaign Unveils National Polling Results; Finds Vast Majority Believes Housing Affordability Should Be “Top National Priority” |
| During a plenary session on March 28 at the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s annual Housing Policy Forum, the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign released the results of a nationwide public opinion poll that it recently commissioned through Hart Research Associates. Mike Koprowski, national campaign director, kicked off the session with an update on the campaign and the reasons behind conducting the poll. |
| “This poll is a call to action,” he said. “At a time when Republicans and Democrats can’t agree on much of anything, the issue of housing affordability appears to be a much-needed unifier.” |
| The poll is the first in several years to extensively assess the extent to which the general public considers housing affordability to be a problem in their communities, whether they have had to make sacrifices in other areas of life because of housing costs, whether they expect action from elected officials, whether they are more likely to vote for a candidate that has a detailed plan to address the problem, and their openness to the specific policy solutions outlined in the campaign’s National Policy Agenda. |
| Mr. Koprowski then introduced Geoff Garin, President of Hart Research Associates, to unveil the polling results. Among the many findings, the poll revealed that the vast majority of the public (85%) believes that ensuring everyone has a safe, decent, affordable place to live should be a “top national priority.” This view is strong across the political spectrum – from 95% of Democrats to 87% of independents to 73% of Republicans. |
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| BuzzFeed News Op-Ed: “The Crushing Cost of Rent Should Be 2020’s Big Issue” |
| On the day of the poll unveiling, Mike Koprowski, national campaign director, penned an op-ed for BuzzFeed News. The piece speaks to the growing housing affordability crisis, the public mandate for solutions, and the need for all 2020 presidential hopefuls to make housing affordability a top-tier priority on the campaign trail. The piece received widespread attention, including retweets from presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren. |
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| Letters to Presidential Hopefuls & Congressional Leaders |
| On March 28, the campaign’s Steering Committee issued an “open letter” to all current and future presidential candidates, urging them to make housing affordability a key pillar of their campaign platforms. |
| On April 9, the campaign’s Steering Committee sent a letter to Majority Leader McConnell, Minority Leader Schumer, Speaker Pelosi, and Minority Leader McCarthy urging them to prioritize housing affordability in the 116th Congress. |
| Also on April 9, the campaign’s Steering Committee sent a letter to THUD leadership in the House and Senate urging an additional $5 billion investment in rental assistance through a potential budget cap deal. This level of investment would lift more than 100,000 households out of poverty. |
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| StriveTogether, A National Network Improving Outcomes For Kids, Explains Why It Supports the National Housing Trust Fund |
| StriveTogether recently joined an array of multi-sector organizations to call for a $3.5 billion increase to the National Housing Trust Fund. StriveTogether, which participates in the campaign’s Roundtable, is a national network helping every child succeed in school and in life by tracking and using educational indicators as predictors for pathways to economic mobility. It coaches, connects, and funds partners in nearly 70 communities across the country. Communities using their approach have seen measurable gains in kindergarten readiness, academic achievement and postsecondary successes. The StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network reaches nearly 14 million students across 29 states and Washington, D.C. |
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| In a recent blog on the campaign’s website, Josh Davis, Vice President of External Affairs at StriveTogether, explains why his organization is participating in the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign and endorsing the National Housing Trust Fund: |
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“It is time to look beyond our respective silos of work. The reality is that education advocates ARE housing advocates, and we must work with cross-sector partners to improve results for kids. We urge those in the education sector to explore partnerships with housing-focused organizations, to think about how particular housing policies can improve student achievement, and to collaborate on aligning the many systems that shape opportunity for children and families.”
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| Join StriveTogether and other multi-sector organizations by signing your organization to the campaign’s letter which calls for a $3.5 billion increase to the National Housing Trust Fund. |
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| Subscribe to the Opportunity Starts at Home Podcast |
| The campaign’s podcast has now reached over 4,400 listeners and has 15 episodes freely available on SoundCloud and iTunes. The podcast features in-depth interviews with leading research experts, advocates, and policymakers about how housing fundamentally shapes outcomes in sectors such as healthcare, education, economic mobility, civil rights, food security, and more. Throughout its first year, the podcast has captured provoking discussions with individuals like world-renowned urbanist Richard Florida, Senator Todd Young (R-IN), and former U.S. Secretary of Education John King. |
| To listen to the podcast, subscribe on iTunes or play directly from Soundcloud. |
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| Campaign’s Year 1 Progress |
| The campaign officially launched in March 2018. The video below highlights the campaign’s major progress over the past year, such as building partnerships with an array of multi-sector organizations and successfully advocating for $28 million for the Housing Choice Voucher Mobility Demonstration. |
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| Latest Research: Expanding Housing Choice Vouchers Would Significantly Reduce Child Poverty |
| A new study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found that Housing Choice Vouchers are among the most effective policies and programs for reducing child poverty. |
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