Campaign Invites National Partners to 10/1 Campaign Event
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| The campaign invites representatives from multi-sector national organizations to attend an in-person Roundtable event in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, October 1. The event, “Opportunity Starts at Home: Six Years of Building Effective and Robust Cross-Sector Partnerships,” will take place from 1 – 4 PM ET at the 20 F St. Conference Center.
The event will focus on mobilizing around the campaign’s priority bills and introducing new strategies to further collective efforts. The event presents an opportunity for the OSAH campaign and multi-sector organizations to expand their networks and strengthen their collective impact.
Event Highlights:
- Opening Remarks by Stephanie Love-Patterson, National Network to End Domestic Violence.
- Campaign Highlights by Chantelle Wilkinson, OSAH Campaign Director
- Multi-sector Panel Discussion on building partnerships and momentum on priority bills, featuring Roundtable members.
- Interactive Sector Specific Breakout Sessions focused on brainstorming new approaches to advance the campaign’s goals.
- Networking Opportunities with fellow partners and stakeholders, offering a chance to build meaningful connections
The Roundtable is made up of representatives from 122 multi-sector organizations and enables the campaign to raise awareness about the intersection of housing and other sectors, continually expand its multi-sector network, and reach a diverse array of new stakeholders.
For national organizations interested in attending the event, please reach out to Chantelle Wilkinson, OSAH Campaign Director, at cwilkinson@nlihc.org. |
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Campaign Releases Updated Gender Equity and Housing Fact Sheet
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| The campaign released an updated fact sheet highlighting the need for safe, accessible, and affordable housing to ensure the well-being of women, LGBTQIA+ people, and their families. Research shows that women are more likely to experience economic insecurity, and access to affordable housing can ensure housing stability and reduce the likelihood of homelessness following changes in income. The updated fact sheet identifies challenges that may be mitigated by access to affordable housing, including disproportionately high eviction rates for women of color, discrimination in the labor market experienced by women with disabilities, and housing discrimination that impacts women at high rates, especially women of color, survivors of domestic violence, households headed by women, and those who are pregnant and have families and children. The fact sheet was developed through collaboration with the National Women’s Law Center, an OSAH Steering Committee member and leading gender equity partner.
In total, the campaign has posted 16 multi-sector fact sheets to its website. Each fact sheet compiles landmark research to help policymakers, opinion leaders, and the public understand the deep connections between housing and other national priorities, from healthcare to education and economic growth. Advocates are encouraged to download these fact sheets to help connect with potential allies in other fields and make the case for cross-sector collaboration. To broaden the movement for housing justice, we must ensure allies in other sectors fully appreciate the extent to which housing influences their own priorities and goals. |
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Campaign Joins Congressional Briefing on “Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act”
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| Campaign staff joined a congressional briefing hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center to discuss how the “Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act” would expand the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program and help families with low incomes move to well-resourced neighborhoods of their choice. During the briefing, Campaign Director Chantelle Wilkinson joined experts to share research on the potential impact of the bill for families and children nationwide, the positive impacts of housing counseling and wrap-around services for administering programs, and the bipartisan public support that exists for provisions in the bill. The briefing concluded with a call to action for elected officials to support the “Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act” and to cosponsor and support the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.
Speakers included:
- Chantelle Wilkinson, Director of Opportunity Starts at Home
- Dr. Stefanie DeLuca, James Coleman Professor of Social Policy and Sociology at Johns Hopkins University.
- Pete Cimbolic, Managing Director for Research and Innovation at Baltimore Regional Housing Partnership.
- Andy Winkler, Director of the Housing and Infrastructure Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center.
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The “Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act” would provide housing vouchers to 250,000 families with young children, along with mobility counseling, to help families with low incomes access communities of their choice. Research shows that when children in families with low incomes grow up in well-resourced neighborhoods with low poverty and crime, quality schools, and other resources, they are significantly more likely to attend college and to earn more as adults over the course of their lifetimes. |
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Campaign Joins 2024 Alaska Housing Summit
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| The campaign participated in the 2024 Alaska Housing Summit, hosted by the Alaska Coalition on Housing and Homelessness (AKCH2), on August 29. The summit focused on the state of affordable housing in Alaska and highlighted cross-sector partnerships to address the housing crisis. During the event, campaign director Chantelle Wilkinson shared insights about the growing national movement for housing justice and discussed the progress made in advancing housing solutions.
Wilkinson echoed a message embodied throughout the summit: the critical role of cross-sector partnerships in the work to advance housing justice. “All across the nation, people are struggling to remain housed and this impacts their overall wellbeing,” said Chantelle. “When renters are experiencing housing insecurity, they are negotiating between life’s essentials. Groceries become a negotiation, healthcare becomes a negotiation, education becomes a negotiation.”
Organizations from various sectors are recognizing that affordable homes are inextricably linked to their own priorities, while many housing advocates are recognizing that this work can no longer be siloed. Summit speakers, including community organizers, government officials, residents, and staff, shared the various ways municipalities, healthcare providers, housing authorities, and the federal and state governments all play a role in the development of housing in Alaska.
Brian Wilson, executive director of AKCH2, discussed the campaign in his opening remarks and its alignment with his organization’s understanding of the importance of national and state cross-sector partnerships in affordable housing advocacy and in direct service provision. Wilson highlighted the benefits of joining NLIHC and state partner calls to connect with housing advocates throughout the country, learn about their work, and implement new approaches. Alaska Coalition on Housing and Homelessness is a state partner of the campaign. |
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Unidos US Briefing Reveals Housing Affordability among Top Issues for Latino Voters
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| Unidos US, a campaign Steering Committee member, hosted an installment of its Latino Vote Briefing Series that focused on affordable housing concerns among Latino voters. The installment, “How Housing Concerns Are Shaping Latino Voter Sentiment,” covered national survey results of Latino voters and found that across Hispanic demographic subgroups, housing prices and cost of living are the primary financial issues that voters would like elected representatives to address. Economic issues were named as four out of five of the top policy issues identified by Latino voters surveyed, and one in four Latino voters identified a lack of affordable housing and high rental costs as one of their top three issues. Across demographic groups, housing concerns were also identified as the biggest financial hardship that Latino voters believe they are facing, which is reflected in the top economic issue areas that respondents identified and which draws attention to the significant impact that housing costs have on the Latino community. To effectively respond to the housing concerns of Latino voters, Unidos US recommends that policymakers address both the supply of and demand for of affordable housing. The demand-side recommendations include investing in and expanding programs, like rental assistance, that help offset the high costs of housing and bridge the gap between rents and incomes. |
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| “Given the saliency of this issue, candidates that reach out and capture the attention of Latino voters with their solutions to address housing affordability can make important inroads,” said Clarissa Martínez De Castro, vice president of the UnidosUS Latino Vote Initiative. “This is particularly true as many Latinos are forming their opinions about parties and candidates, with one in five Latinos expected to vote in 2024 doing so for the first time in a presidential election.” |
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Animal Welfare Report Assesses Housing-Related Pet Relinquishment in U.S. Animal Shelters
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| A recent study published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science analyzed animal shelter intake records from 21 shelters in the United States to evaluate the frequency of housing-related pet relinquishments from 2019-2023 and found that 14% of animal relinquishments were for housing related reasons. The report looked at five different subtypes of housing relinquishment: unspecified housing reasons, pet-related restrictions, landlord issues, housing loss, and pet owners experiencing homelessness. The analysis finds that between 2019-2023 there was an increase in intakes due to housing loss and a decrease in intakes due to landlord issues and pet restrictions. The authors suggest that this could indicate a shift to more pet-inclusive housing policies, but during a time of growing housing insecurity due to rising housing costs, eviction rates, and homelessness. The report also analyzed outcomes of shelter intakes and found that pets relinquished by unhoused owners were less likely to have a live outcome from an animal shelter. Most relinquished pets were adopted or transferred to rescue organizations, with only 4% eventually returning to their owners.
The report provides insights into the impact of housing issues on pet surrender rates. Housing stability of pet owners, who make up 72% of renter households according to the Humane Society of the United States, is influenced by varying laws and regulations regarding pets in rental housing and the national affordable housing crisis. The authors cite The Gap, stating that there is a shortage of 7.3 million affordable and available homes that are affordable and available for extremely low-income renters, and a lack of affordable housing and prevalence of moderate and severe rent burdens disproportionately impact BIPOC-headed households. Monthly pet rent, which is a common pet policy, adds an additional cost to already cost-burdened households and makes it more difficult for families with low-incomes to have pets. The authors recommend changes to pet restrictions and fees in rental housing policies, while also calling for broader policy advocacy to address housing affordability at the state and federal levels. |
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Fact of the Month: Children who experienced cost-driven moves in the past year were 44% more likely to have lost WIC, SNAP, and Medicaid benefits than children who stayed in place.
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