NLIHC’s Our Homes, Our Votes: 2020 held another presidential candidate event on August 28. NLIHC state partner Housing Action NH hosted a roundtable discussion on affordable housing with Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld under the banner of Our Homes, Our Votes, Our New Hampshire. The event was co-hosted by CATCH Neighborhood Housing, a community-based New Hampshire non-profit dedicated to strengthening communities by creating opportunities for affordable, quality housing for people otherwise not being served.
“The duty of the president of the United States is to take care of the people in the United States and to make sure that they’re provided for,” former Governor Weld said to an audience of residents. “If you have to choose between shelter or food, that is not acceptable. Additionally, 15% of the U.S. population living in poverty is unacceptable.”
Mr. Weld talked about the effects of economic inequality in America and the importance of social cohesion, and he responded to questions on affordable housing and ending homelessness. He emphasized the federal government’s role in providing affordable housing to those in need: “The individual can never be thrust into the corner—never thrusting the individual in a corner means the federal government has a role to play in ensuring that everyone has a place to call home.”
Elissa Margolin, executive director of Housing Action NH, also spoke at the event, noting the difficulties of accessing affordable housing in New Hampshire and the statewide vacancy rate of 0.8%. CATCH Neighborhood Housing President and CEO Rosemary M. Heard spoke about the affordable homes her organization develops and operates for low-income people and families and about the need to do more.
NLIHC’s nonpartisan Our Homes, Our Votes: 2020 project partners in New Hampshire, Iowa and beyond to urge all of the 2020 presidential candidates to elevate the issue of affordable housing and the needs of low-income residents. Several events have already been held, and more will be announced soon.
Find tools and resources you can use for your own nonpartisan engagement of candidates on the issue of housing affordability, tips for hosting candidate forums, a webpage tracking what the 2020 presidential candidates are saying and proposing about affordable housing, and many other resources related to low-income voter engagement at: https://ourhomes-ourvotes.org
Follow @OurHomesVotes on Twitter and @OHOV2020 on Facebook with #OurHomesOurVotes2020 for the latest on our efforts to raise the profile of affordable housing in the 2020 elections