Welcome to August Advocacy!
Dear NAHRO members,
Today, we kick off our annual August Advocacy campaign with three ambitious goals: 50,000 letters sent by 2,500 individual advocates and 50 site visits. I am asking for your help to achieve these goals – whether you are an executive director, a commissioner, maintenance staff, or a developer, or a service provider, your voice is critical to lifting up the need for additional affordable housing resources.
We are housers and community builders and we are the best at what we do. We build and maintain safe, decent affordable homes for our neighbors, and provide necessary services and opportunities for children, families, seniors, veterans and persons with disabilities to thrive. Congress knows the importance of these investments – earlier this summer, the House approved a 17% increase to FY 2023 HUD funding.
That’s why I’m incredibly excited to kick off this year’s August Advocacy campaign. Now, more than ever, it is important to let your elected officials know that Federal housing programs work and that your agencies are vital partners in providing everyone with a safe, decent, affordable home! Based on member input, we’re focusing on these critical topics:
- Federal housing solutions work
- Address housing scarcity
- Expand access to housing vouchers
- Increase housing voucher effectiveness
- Preserve public housing
- Pass timely, robust appropriations
Here are some of the resources we’ve prepared for you:
- Our Action Alert Center – customize and send weekly letters about vital housing and community development programs to your representatives and senators;
- Our first-ever Advocacy Agenda – brief and timely talking points to take to your lawmakers as you make the case for Federal housing programs and local solutions;
- An August Advocacy webpage with goal trackers and site visit information;
- A second Virtual Hill Day on August 3;
- Sample emails, social media posts and graphics to help get the word out;
- And more!
So let’s get real loud this August – the families we serve depend on us!
Regards,
Mark Thiele
NAHRO CEO