Locally, San Diego Habitat representatives attended a recent San Diego City Council meeting in support of the San Diego Housing Federation’s “Homes for San Diegans” — a $900 million housing bond proposed for the November ballot. Over 100 coalition organization representatives and community members turned out to speak in favor of the item, and the Council voted 6-3 in favor to move the bond forward. This was a crucial next step in the process of getting this measure to the ballot, but is not the end of the line. The Resolution of Necessity that was passed means that City staff can now begin drafting the proposed measure. The item will come back once more to the Council for final ballot approval.
On the statewide front, representatives from 25 California Habitat affiliates came together to lobby our state representatives on housing priorities in Sacramento this month — the ninth annual Advocacy Day event. You can read a summary of the legislative agenda of Habitat for Humanity California, which is the coalition of all 41 state of California Habitat affiliates.
Finally, Habitat’s government relations and advocacy team in Washington, D.C., has been focused on:
- Expanding down payment and closing cost assistance to give low-wealth households a fair chance at homeownership;
- Creating 500,000 opportunity vouchers to help very low-income families access affordable homes in neighborhoods with opportunities; and
- Passing the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act, or NHIA, to rehabilitate homes in distressed communities.
We joined a delegation of Habitat affiliates from across the country to lend our voices in support of these efforts. We hope you will use your voice to help us #buildlouder!
