Housing Impact Team Supports Statewide Home is where it all starts® Campaign
There is little doubt that the lack of housing that can meet families’ needs in Arizona is one of the state’s most pressing issues. Over the last few years, we have seen rising housing costs and a subsequent increase in the state’s population of people experiencing homelessness.
Tackling this challenge is complex and will require coordination of stakeholders across the spectrum of housing from homelessness service providers to housing developers from local cities and towns to the state legislature.
The state is set to fund $150 million for housing construction through the Arizona Housing Trust Fund, another $60 million for the Homeless Shelter and Services Fund and $5 million each for programs for homeless veterans and corrections reentry. We hope this is the first of many moves in an effort to address this systemic challenge.
Work must also be done at the local level to change perspectives and address local opposition to housing construction at city planning and zoning commission and council meetings. Valley Leadership’s Housing & Healthy Neighborhoods Impact Team is helping lead this effort in partnership with Home Matters to Arizona.
The Team will be leveraging the Home is where it all starts® campaign, a collaborative effort in partnership with the Arizona Community Foundation, Arizona Housing Coalition, First Place AZ, Home Arizona, Arizona Department of Health Services, the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG), and many others, to reframe the narrative around housing. Home is where it all starts® envisions a future where every Arizonan has a place to be at home.
To make it a reality, we are inspiring Arizonans (especially VL alums) to be champions in their communities to ensure everyone has a home that meets their needs. By using data and stories to demonstrate the value and impact of attainable homes, we can create new perspectives about housing in our communities.
This is grassroots work and requires coordination and partnership, with active participation from a large network of individuals all collectively sharing the same message that “home is where it all starts”. As the Housing & Health Neighborhoods Impact Team embarks on this effort, we’ll be reaching out to VL alums to contribute and participate in this effort and sharing resources on how to advocate for housing at the local level.
If you’re interested in being part of this effort, you can learn more about the Home is where it all starts®. To support Valley Leadership’s Housing & Healthy Impact Team, please contact Amanda Straight, Valley Leadership’s Manager of Strategic Doing, at amanda@valleyleadership.org for more details.
Written By: Sarah Shambrook, Housing & Healthy Neighborhoods To Do Item Team Lead