The 2018 Our Homes, Our Voices National Housing Week of Action is underway, and the activities of advocates around the country are gaining the attention of policy makers. This year’s Week of Action features more than 110 events around the country, a significant increase over 2017’s inaugural effort. Our Homes, Our Voices events have included rallies, teach-ins, site visits, tweetstorms, and meetings with elected officials. More events are planned for the last few days of the Week of Action, including today’s national call-in day and tomorrow’s tweetstorm. There is still time to be involved in both local and national events and actions - visit www.ourhomes-ourvoices.org to see the full list of local events and nation-wide activities in which you can participate.
Members of Congress have been participating in Week of Action events both in person and through social media. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Angus King (I-ME) all joined advocates at local events in their states. Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Katherine Clark (D-MA) presented at community conversations in Seattle and Boston, respectively. Other national legislators that have been vocal in support of Our Homes, Our Voices include Senators Diane Feinstein (D-CA), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), as well as Representatives Nydia Velasquez (D-NY), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Dave Reichert (R-WA), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Michael Capuano (D-MA) and Nanette Barragan (D-CA). Many more are expected to participate in local events today, and in tomorrow’s tweetstorm.
National Events: Call-in Day and Tweetstorm
As Congress returns to session today, May 7, Our Homes, Our Voices will direct its attention to Capitol Hill. Senate and House Appropriations Committees will soon be voting on spending bills, and it’s important that members of Congress and their staff are aware of the groundswell of support for greater federal investments in affordable housing.
NLIHC and our partners in the Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding encourage all advocates to contact Congressional offices today, May 7, to emphasize the crucial importance of federal funding to address the shortage of affordable homes in America. Encourage your networks to call their federal elected officials today! To find the phone number for your member of Congress, use the “Contact Congress” function on the right side of www.nlihc.org or call the Congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121. A sample call script is available at: www.ourhomesourvoices.org
Tomorrow, May 8 at 2pm ET, the Our Homes, Our Voices Week of Action will be capped off with an #OurHomesOurVoices Twitterstorm. Sample tweets are available on the resources page of www.ourhomes-ourvoices.org. Plan your May 8 tweets now and promote this effort with your networks.
Communities Participating in Week of Action
Major thanks to organizers and advocates in the following communities have engaged in Our Homes, Our Voices Week of Action events:
- Fairbanks, AK
- Phoenix, AZ
- Los Angeles, CA
- Palm Springs, CA
- Sacramento, CA
- San Francisco, CA
- San Rafael, CA
- Santa Barbara, CA
- Dover, DE
- Miami, FL
- Tampa, FL
- West Palm Beach, FL
- Columbus, GA
- Chicago, IL
- East St. Louis, IL
- Evanston, IL
- Waukegan, IL
- Wheaton, IL
- Hammond, IN
- Indianapolis, IN
- Davenport, IA
- Frankfort, KY
- New Orleans, LA
- Ville Platte, LA
- Portland, ME
- Baltimore, MD
- Boston, MA
- Cambridge, MA
- Sudbury, MA
- Lansing, MI
- Apple Valley, MN
- Eagan, MN
- St. Paul, MN
- Ferguson, MO
- Kansas City, MO
- St. Louis, MO
- St. Peters, MO
- Butte, MT
- Camden, NJ
- Jersey City, NJ
- Long Branch, NJ
- Morris Township, NJ
- Newark, NJ
- New Brunswick, NJ
- Plainfield, NJ
- Santa Fe, NM
- New York City, NY
- Rochester, NY
- Syracuse, NY
- Albemarle, NC
- Burlington, NC
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Durham, NC
- New Bern, NC
- Cincinnati, OH
- Eaton, OH
- Portland, OR
- Philadelphia, PA
- San Juan, PR
- Providence, RI
- Clarksville, TN
- Memphis, TN
- Nashville, TN
- Austin, TX
- Fort Worth, TX
- Houston, TX
- San Juan, TX
- Salt Lake City, UT
- Montpelier, VT
- Richmond, VA
- Bellingham, WA
- Centralia, WA
- Des Moines, WA
- Lynnwood, WA
- Seattle, WA
- Spokane, WA
If your community is not on the list above, please get in touch with us to that we can include your event in our Week of Action recap articles and social media posts by emailing: [email protected]