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NEW VOICES FOR AFFORDABLE HOMES
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| Campaign Urges Congress to Include Emergency Rental Assistance Fund in Coronavirus Response |
| The campaign sent a on March 12, to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), urging them to create emergency rental assistance funding to help prevent housing instability and homelessness as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. This letter was sent to congressional leadership as they consider a series of legislative spending packages aimed at addressing the impact of the coronavirus. The letter was signed by nearly 50 leading national organizations from the campaign’s multi-sector Steering Committee and Roundtable. |
| Last week, Congress passed a third package which included $12 billion for immediate housing and homelessness needs. For more information on what is included in the third package, click here. This package is an important step forward and will make a critical difference for people experiencing homelessness or are right on the brink, but there is still much work to do ahead as the pandemic unfolds. We must ensure that subsequent packages include robust resources for emergency rent relief to ensure housing stability during – and after – the crisis. |
| The campaign also released a new podcast episode featuring Dr. Barbara DiPietro, senior director of policy at the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, who speaks about the intersection between housing and the Coronavirus pandemic. “Our housing crisis is a public health issue,” said Dr. DiPietro. “People experiencing homelessness should be a priority population in our emergency response to the coronavirus.” |
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TAKE ACTION NOW! Continue to call or email your senators and representatives to demand strong federal resources to protect people experiencing homelessness and to ensure low-income renters can keep roofs over their heads during and after the crisis.
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| Campaign Expresses Support for Housing Investments in Infrastructure Package & “Pathway to Stable and Affordable Housing For All Act” |
| Our Steering Committee sent two separate letters to Congress on March 17: the first urges housing investments in any potential infrastructure package and the second expresses support for the “Pathway to Stable and Affordable Housing for All Act.” Signatories include leading national organizations from a wide range of sectors, such as the National Education Association, NAACP, Catholic Charities USA, Children’s HealthWatch, Food Research & Action Center, JustLeadershipUSA, NLIHC, and more. |
| In the first letter, the campaign’s Steering Committee urges Congress to consider the following housing investments as part of a broader infrastructure package: at least $5 billion for the national Housing Trust Fund (HTF), which provides block grants to the states to increase the supply of affordable homes for those with the greatest needs; at least $15 billion to rehabilitate the public housing stock to preserve this asset for current tenants and future generations; and a targeted renters’ tax credit, which would reduce rents in state-designated housing developments to levels the lowest-income households can afford. |
| The second letter is addressed to the Senate and House sponsors of the “Pathway to Stable and Affordable Housing for All Act” (S.2946/H.R.5813), which would effectively end homelessness through full funding for rental assistance, robust investments in the HTF, and expanded funding for homelessness programs. The letter signatories expressed their strong support for the legislation and committed to helping advance it in Congress. |
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| New Fact Sheet Available on LGBTQ Equity and Housing |
| The campaign recently released a new multi-sector fact sheet on its website explaining the connections between LGBTQ equity and stable, affordable housing. Research is increasingly clear that stable, affordable, and accessible housing is a critical driver of positive outcomes in many areas of life, but such housing is much less assured for the LGBTQ community. |
| In total, there are now 13 multi-sector fact sheets on the campaign’s website. Each fact sheet compiles landmark research to help policymakers, opinion leaders, and the public understand the deep connections between housing and many other national priorities, from healthcare to education to economic growth. Housing advocates are encouraged to download these fact sheets to help them reach out to potential allies in other fields to make the case for cross-sector collaboration. To broaden the movement for affordable homes, we must be sure that allies in other sectors fully appreciate the extent to which housing influences their own priorities and goals. |
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| New Podcast Episode on Latino Rental Housing Affordability |
| The campaign released a new podcast episode, “Latino Rental Housing Affordability,” featuring Agatha So, senior policy analyst at UnidosUS. UnidosUS, formerly the National Council of La Raza, is the nation’s largest Latino nonprofit advocacy and services organization and is a Steering Committee member of the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign. |
| Ms. So discusses recent findings from a UnidosUS report that interviewed 25 Latino renter households in New York City, Washington DC, San Francisco, Phoenix, Denver, Orlando, and Las Vegas. The findings demonstrate the housing crisis is felt deeply by the Latino community. Ms. So also discusses the history of housing discrimination in the U.S. that shapes the landscape today, as well as concrete policy actions that should be taken to solve the problem. |
| “Action is urgently needed,” states Ms. So. “The lack of affordable rental housing has a significant impact on a family’s economic security, feelings of safety in their neighborhood, their housing options, and their prospects of saving for the future.” |
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