NLIHC held a convening of its state and tribal partners on November 15-16 in Washington, D.C. More than 30 people representing 22 of NLIHC’s partner organizations, along with all NLIHC staff and many board members, gathered for two days of networking, strategizing about advocacy initiatives, and deepening their commitment to racial equity. The agenda included a powerful panel discussion with members of NLIHC’s Tenant Collective, as well as a panel on centering residents to advance federal renter protections that included senior officials from HUD and the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Attendees also discussed federal advocacy strategies for the remainder of 2023 and for 2024, participated in conversations about Native housing partnerships, and visited the National Museum of the American Indian. The convening wrapped up with a kick-off meeting for NLIHC’s second Racial Equity Cohort (see Memo 6/26/23).
NLIHC state and tribal partners are those member organizations with which it works most closely in each state or region of the country. Partners receive specialized support to enhance their participation in federal housing advocacy and in turn commit to being primary advocates for housing for the lowest-income renters in their region and working to educate and mobilize their network around NLIHC’s policy priorities. Six positions of NLIHC’s board of directors are reserved for current state and tribal partners. Partners are typically housing and homelessness advocacy organizations that serve tribal communities, entire states, or regions within a state; are engaged in state and/or federal housing advocacy; and have their own networks to mobilize in pursuit of NLIHC’s policy priorities. Currently, NLIHC has 66 state partners operating in 45 states and the District of Columbia, as well as one tribal partner operating in the Northern Plains region. The Racial Equity Cohort is a sub-group of representatives from eight state and tribal partner organizations that are actively working to integrate racial equity policies, tools, and practices into their organizations.
NLIHC is always seeking to add new state and tribal partners, particularly in geographic regions without an existing partner. Partners must be existing NLIHC members and go through a board approval process. For more information about becoming an NLIHC state or tribal partner, please contact [email protected].