NLIHC released today an updated advocacy toolkit to help advocates take action on affordable housing and homelessness during Congress’s upcoming August recess!
The Congressional Recess Toolkit offers comprehensive information about how to host site visits and in-district meetings with members of Congress and provides ideas about ways to advocate for increased federal funding for affordable housing and homelessness assistance programs and for evidence-based solutions to homelessness, like Housing First.
August recess is an ideal time for advocates to weigh in directly with their elected officials, including by scheduling in-district meetings with their members; inviting members of Congress to tour affordable housing developments or Housing First programs; and using social media to amplify messages and stories about the importance of these programs.
The Congressional Recess Toolkit includes key resources advocates can use when trying to build Congressional support for the large-scale, sustained investments needed to address the affordable housing and homelessness crisis. These resources include talking points regarding Housing First and the federal budget, storytelling tips and tricks, social media messages, guidance on how to host site visits and conduct in-district meetings, and more.
Background
Even before the pandemic, half a million people experienced homelessness on any given night, and millions of extremely low-income households were struggling to keep roofs over their heads. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and 12 million households were suddenly at risk of losing their homes, advocates pushed the federal government to take immediate action. The government responded with unprecedented resources and protections to keep tenants housed.
Now, pandemic resources are dwindling and some renter protections are expiring. Renters face a range of issues threatening their housing security, including increased eviction filings in many communities, record-breaking rents, and wages that have not kept pace with the increased cost of living. These factors, combined with a national shortage of 7.3 million units of affordable housing for those with the lowest incomes, have led to more people – including families with children and older adults – being pushed into homelessness.
At the same time, dangerous anti-homelessness rhetoric is gaining traction in some states and communities, and Congress continues to underfund the vital programs that help people with the lowest incomes find and maintain affordable, accessible housing. Some misguided policymakers are turning away from solutions that work to push instead for harmful measures criminalizing homelessness, imposing punitive requirements to obtain housing, and even preventing the development of affordable housing. These approaches are counterproductive and dehumanizing and will make it even harder for people to exit homelessness.
In August, members of Congress leave their offices in D.C. to return to their home districts and states. Known as “August recess,” this time is used by members to attend community meetings and hear from their constituents about the issues impacting them. August recess is also the perfect time for advocates to set up in-district meetings with their members and let their elected officials know about the importance of increased funding for HUD’s vital affordable housing and homelessness programs.
Take Action!
It was thanks to the hard work of advocates across the country in mobilizing to weigh in with their elected officials that Congress provided the unprecedented resources and protections needed to keep renters safe during the pandemic. Advocates mobilized once again to push House appropriators to spare HUD’s vital rental assistance, homelessness assistance, and tribal housing programs from what were expected to be draconian cuts in the House’s proposed budget.
These successes prove that, together, we can make our voices heard and protect the individuals, families, and communities that rely on HUD programs. But we have more work to do to ensure these funding levels remain in a final bill and that other critical programs, such as public housing, are also fully funded.
Use the newly updated Congressional Recess Toolkit for ideas, tips, and guidance on how you can continue weighing in with your members of Congress. Advocates can also take action TODAY in the following ways:
- Contact your senators and representatives to urge them to expand – not cut – investments in affordable, accessible homes through the FY24 spending bill, including NLIHC’s top priorities:
- Implementing full funding for the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) program to renew all existing contracts.
- Providing full funding for public housing operations and repairs.
- Fully funding homelessness assistance grants.
- Providing $100 million for legal assistance to prevent evictions.
- Funding a permanent Emergency Rental Assistance program.
- Maintaining funding for competitive tribal housing grants for tribes with the greatest needs.
- Join over 2,000 organizations by signing on to a national letter from the Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding (CHCDF), calling on Congress to oppose budget cuts and instead to support the highest level of funding possible for affordable housing, homelessness, and community development resources in FY24.
