Affordable Homes Start With Advocacy

When we think of our politics in recent times, we often consider the issues that divide us. One issue, though, crosses into communities of every size and type, location and political persuasion: housing and, in particular, homeownership. And in our recent trips to advocate for support in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., we saw exactly that—the lack of affordable homeownership opportunities is raising alarm bells across the board. While it unfortunately means that the tide of this crisis has risen to new heights, it also presents an opportunity to bring people together around a problem that impacts us all. 

Because long before ground is broken or walls are nailed into place, building affordable homes starts with voices raised. It starts with urging our leaders to invest in expanding access to one of our best tools for better economic mobility, public health, improved education, stable communities, and generational wealth-building: homeownership. And this winter, we headed to both our state and national capitals to put our voices into action.

What we need from Sacramento

• CalHome: CalHome was zeroed out in this year's state budget and, with the last residual funds in its coffers about to be parceled out in a few weeks, we need to have funding reinstated in the upcoming budget. CalHome is the single state program that funds affordable ownership housing production, and it's a lifeline that has helped Habitat East Bay/Silicon Valley to build 40 new homes and improve 300 homes in the last 10 years alone. 
• Homeowner's Insurance:  Our housing crisis is compounded by an insurance crisis in the state—thrown into sharp relief by recent catastrophes—and we urge our state leaders to support the availability and affordability of homeowner's insurance. 
• Honoring Jimmy Carter: In recognition of his incredible contributions to humanity, our leaders have decided at our urging to recognize December 29th as President Jimmy Carter Day in the State of California.

What we need from Washington, D.C.

At the federal level, we're responding to a concern making national news: the lack of affordable "starter" homes . We call on our leaders to help Habitat address this problem in three ways:

• Support existing programs: We already have federal programs that are successfully boosting the supply of affordable starter homes, including some Habitat relies on nationwide. We need our lawmakers to stand up for these programs by increasing their funding.
• Champion new solutions: Habitat is developing a new policy idea that will create a new federal resource dedicated to increasing the supply of affordable starter home supply, and we urge Congress to embrace this innovation.
• Support smart tax policy: As Congress discusses new tax packages, we ask that they ensure provisions that bolster affordable starter home supply.

Want to join us by letting your legislators know you care about making homeownership affordable for more Americans? With just one minute of your time, you can send a message to your representatives.

How you can help us build more