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Tenant Engagement
Tenant Engagement
NLIHC has a deep history of engaging low-income tenants and residents of subsidized housing to inform and advance our policy priorities. For the first 20 years as an organization, NLIHC was governed by a board with a majority of low-income people. The board now represents the breadth of NLIHC members, including six positions set aside for people with very low incomes, and additional avenues for engagement have been created through the years:
- 2010: NLIHC released it’s first Tenant Talk publication, to engage low-income renters in federal advocacy.
- 2013: NLIHC held the first Resident Session, now called the Tenant Session, during the annual Housing Policy Forum. This special session is for low-income tenants to learn how to influence federal housing advocacy and connect with one another.
- 2019: NLIHC hosted its first Tenant Talk Live webinar, providing an opportunity for tenants to connect with NLIHC and one another, learn how to be more involved in influencing federal housing policies, and to share best practices on how to lead in their communities.
- 2022: NLIHC created it’s first Tenant Leader Cohort, now known as The Collective. The Collective is a group of community leaders with lived experience of housing insecurity who work to advance housing and racial justice in their communities.
As NLIHC continues to expand its work with tenant engagement, we encourage tenant leaders to view the content in the tabs above to learn more about the work.
Membership
Tenants and tenant-based organizations are encouraged to become an NLIHC member. Members support the production of publications like Tenant Talk and other NLIHC resources. NLIHC members also have the opportunity to participate in a strong network, to support strategic advocacy for NLIHC’s policy priorities, and to be publicly identified with the affordable housing movement on the national level.
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Tenant Talk
Tenant Talk
Tenant Talk connects tenants with the housing policy issues affecting their lives. This semiannual publication was created to engage low-income people in housing advocacy. Tenant Talk covers issues of importance to low-income residents, like tenant protections, the budget and appropriations process, fair housing, disaster housing recovery, and so much more!
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Tenant Talk Live
Tenant Talk Live
NLIHC’s Tenant Talk Live meeting serves as an opportunity for tenants to connect with NLIHC and one another, learn how to be more involved in influencing federal housing policies, and to share best practices on how to lead in their communities. Topics include tenant protections, tenant organizing best practices, HUD programs for low-income tenants, and more!
Email [email protected] to be added to the Tenant Talk Live email list for updates.
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The Collective
The Collective
NLIHC’s The Collective is a dedicated group of tenant and community leaders with lived experience of housing insecurity who work to advance housing and racial justice in their communities. NLIHC collaborates with the Collective to inform policy priorities so that they best reflect the needs of low-income renters. The inaugural Collective (previously known as the Tenant Leader Cohort) was launched in 2022 and was made up of people across the country who had experience with NLIHC’s federal housing policy advocacy and were established community leaders. The second Collective (2023-2024) consists of people who are newer to NLIHC’s work but have been advancing the goal of housing justice in their own communities.
Traditionally, kicks off with a Retreat where members focus on building community with each other and NLIHC staff, addressing racial trauma and healing, and helping formulate some of NLIHC’s policy priorities. The Collective members then work closely with NLIHC staff during their time in the cohort to advance federal affordable housing policies and regulations to support low-income renters.
Applications for The Collective open in May of each year, and we encourage you to consider joining this inspiring group of community leaders! Together, we can create lasting change for low-income renters.Collective Cohort 2022-2023
NLIHC’s first Tenant Leader Cohort, now known as the Collective, was composed of advocates and community leaders from across the country who have been engaged in NLIHC’s work in different capacities for several years. After years of working closely with NLIHC, they expressed a need for a group of dedicated people with lived experience of housing instability and homelessness who are also engaged in advocacy on the local, state, and federal levels. The goal of this cohort was to establish a new chapter in NLIHC’s history and create a new lane of tenant organizing and advocacy. They are the blueprint.
Members:
- Loraine Brown, president emeritus of 334 East 92nd Street Tenant Association and board member of the National Low Income Housing Coalition
- Geraldine Collins, executive director of the National Alliance of HUD Tenants and board member of the National Low Income Housing Coalition
- Kafi Dixon, founder of the Common Good Cooperative
- Willie “J.R.” Fleming, executive director of the Chicago Anti Eviction Campaign
- Bambie Hayes-Brown, president and CEO of Georgia Advancing Communities Together, Inc. and board member of the National Low Income Housing Coalition
- Jerry Johnson, Housing Choice Voucher leader board member with the Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance (CAFHA)
- Joy Johnson, founder and chair of the Charlottesville Public Housing Association of Residents and former board member of the National Low Income Housing Coalition
- Rachel Johnson, executive director and co-founder of Faces of HUD Housing
- Zella Knight, member leader of the Residents United Network Los Angeles and board member, National Low Income Housing Coalition
- Rebekah Love, resident of Louisville, KY
- Laura Ramos, president of Everyone for Accessible Community Housing Rolls! Inc. (EACH Rolls!)
- Hasson Rashid, board member of the National Low Income Housing Coalition Resident
- Shalonda Rivers, member of NAACP Miami Dade Branch and board member of the National Low Income Housing Coalition
- Linda Soderstrom, board member of Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing (MICAH)
- Mindy Woods, member leader of the Resident Action Project and board member of the National Low Income Housing Coalition
Work and accomplishments:
Collective Cohort 2023-2024
The 2023-2024 Collective was a dynamic group, with people from a range of states and regions, differing levels of experience and areas of expertise, and visions for housing justice. Many Collective members from this cohort are new to NLIHC’s work and policy priorities, which means they provided new perspectives and creative advocacy approaches, especially when it came to considering intersectional social identities and experiences as a tenant. This group is primed to be a game-changer when it comes to NLIHC’s tenant engagement work, and federal tenant advocacy.
Members:
- Ramona Ferreyra, Save Section 9
- Miracle Fletcher, City of Atlanta housing commissioner
- William E. Higgins Jr., executive director of Homeless Advocacy for All
- Tara Madison, National Alliance of HUD Tenants
- Sharon Norwood, housing justice organizer with Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance
- Taylar Nuevelle, executive director of Who Speaks for Me?
- Daniella Pierre, president of NAACP Miami-Dade Branch
- Robert Robinson, special advisor, Partners for Dignity and Rights, and adjust professor of urbanism at New School University in New York City
- Dee (Derris) Ross, founder and CEO of The Ross Foundation
- Vee Sanchez, Empower Missouri
- Marsh Melody Santoro, tenant leader with Fairview Arms Apartments
- Albert Townsend, National Alliance to End Homelessness
- Shannon (Sunshine) Washington, Sunshine Charity Community Investment Coalition and Sunshine Tenant Authority Patrol and Support
Work and accomplishments:
Collective Cohort 2024-2025
More information coming soon!
Learn more about the work of The Collective under the "Resources" tab.
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Tenant Session at NLIHC Forum
Tenant Session at NLIHC's Annual Housing Policy Forum
Since 2013, NLIHC’s annual Housing Policy Forum in March has offered a special session for low-income tenants before the start of the Housing Policy Forum, known as the Tenant Session.
During the Tenant Session, tenant leaders lead discussions and speak with key decision makers and experts in the affordable housing field, tenant advocacy and engagement space, and the Administration. Guest speakers are invited to spotlight their work, share what is being done to address the shortage of affordable homes on the federal level, and to provide feedback on how current policies in place are affecting real people.
Email [email protected] to learn more about how to sign up for the next Tenant Session. -
Resources
Resources
Direct Assistance
- NLIHC frequently receives calls and emails from individuals seeking housing assistance. Since we do not provide direct services and do not have knowledge of local service providers in specific communities, we are not best equipped to assist people with these requests. Instead, we offer resources and information here.
Tenant Engagement and Other Resources