Housing Policies & Advocacy

Affordable housing, in some ways, is very difficult to do advocacy on.  The people most directly impacted by poor housing policies very often are unable-for various reasons-to do any advocacy on the national level, which is where much of funding for affordable housing happens.  People who are searching for housing, people who has to work two jobs to make ends meet, etc. simply do not have the time or background to educate themselves on housing issues, which can be complex.  The idea of calling their Senator and/or Representative can be intimidating, especially when you're not sure of what the difference between Section 811, Section 8, Section 202, Section 42, etc. are, or what SEVRA, SESA, PETRA, etc. are.

Service providers, the organizational staff that very often work with segments of the low-income population, such as those who work with people with disabilities, people who are elderly, struggling families, etc. are often overwhelmed.  Many non-profit organizations are also often confused at where the line between advocacy and lobbying is, so they err on the side of caution.

So often it falls to people whose job is to learn about housing issues-the finances, the budgeting, the regulations, etc. to do the advocacy on behalf of the low-income population.  Of course, there are people who represent tax-credit developers, public housing authorities, etc. but they have a different perspective than the people who would actually occupy the units. 

Representing the low-income population are a number of national organizations-the one I'm most familiar with is the National Low-Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC).  And then there are other organizations who focus on community/neighborhood development such as the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC).  Some work on homelessness issues such as the National Alliance to End Homelessness and the National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness. 

Those and other organizations (feel free to suggest additional ones in comments) do policy analysis and distribute that information to legislators and other policy makers.  They also often freely share their results with the public.  Many, if not all, have newsletters and/or advocacy alerts for people.  In other words, it can be easy to just sign up for some alerts, and then start advocating almost immediately even if you don't know much about the issues-those alerts often explain what's at stake.

So what I'm saying is, get off your duff, go sign up for the newsletters, and start advocating for better housing policies on the national level.  And while you're at it, help out those under appreciated organizations by becoming a member-I'm a member of NLIHC-to help support them financially so they can continue their fine work.

(Yes, I know, unfortunately, much of this information sharing is almost entirely Internet-based, so it can be difficult for people without reliable access to the Internet to participate. )

Update:  How could I forget the Technical Assistance Collaborative?