Today, one in six families pay half or more of their income on their rent or mortgage, often choosing between paying for housing or nutritious food, reliable transportation or healthcare needs. That is unacceptable.
Through the Cost of Home advocacy campaign, Habitat for Humanity is mobilizing local organizations, partners, volunteers and community members across the country to find solutions and help create policies that will allow 10 million individuals to have access to affordable homes.
The Cost of Home campaign increases home affordability by influencing policies focused on:
- Increasing supply and preservation of affordable homes
- Equitably increasing access to credit
- Ensuring access to and development of communities of opportunity
- Optimizing land use for affordable homes
Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg team has made some great strides in the Cost of Home campaign locally.
We have:
- Joined an advocacy coalition of local Virginia Habitat affiliates to create a broader reach in affordable housing
- Advocated for housing in the Virginia Governor’s budget during the special legislative session
- Kept a non-partisan approach by reminding the public to register to vote in our Habitat ReStore locations and on our social media pages
- Asked our local elected officials to support the Virginia Housing Trust Fund
- Worked with CHACE (a statewide coalition of housing advocates) to educate our local elected officials on our 2020 housing policy priorities as well as housing affordability and homelessness amid COVID-19
The work does not end here. We will keep working until the #CostofHome is something we all can afford!
SUPPORT THE COST OF HOME CAMPAIGN
Here’s what you can do to help make the Cost of Home something we all can afford:
- Stop by our office and take a picture with our Cost of Home square!
- Share on your social media pages that you support the Cost of Home! Use #CostOfHome and tag us @HabitatPGW!
- Volunteer! We need volunteers to help organize letters and postcards to local legislators urging them to support policies that improve housing affordability!
- Take the Cost of Home pledge!
- Learn even more about Cost of Home and policies we support in Virginia here!
For more information or to support the Cost of Home advocacy campaign, please contact Maerine Mitchell at [email protected] or 757-913-5652.
