Our Homes, Our Voices Week of Action Recap

Congratulations to the Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding (CHCDF) for another amazing Our Homes, Our Voices Affordable Housing Week of Action, calling for greater investments in affordable homes and in our communities! Thanks to all our local partners who participated and put on wonderful events across the country. Here’s a round-up of some of the events the National Housing Trust was involved in during the Week of Action:

Know Your Rights Workshop

In Miami, NHT partnered with Miami Homes for All and Helping Our Miami-Dade Youth (HOMY) to host a Know Your Rights workshop specifically tailored for young adults, ages 18-24. During the workshop, participants learned about their rights as tenants, how to get an apartment, and how to keep it.  

Community Dinner

Also in Miami, NHT partnered with the Struggle for Miami's Affordable and Sustainable Housing (SMASH) and Radical Partners to host a free community dinner titled: Defeating Poverty Through Affordable Housing. Participants of the dinner included residents of local affordable housing communities, residents of neighboring communities, and local politicians.

The dinner coincided with Radical Partners’ “10 Days of Connection,” a campaign designed to encourage more connectivity between Miami residents and communities. Attendees shared their stories with leaders and policy makers to highlight the importance of safe, affordable housing and a successful anti-poverty strategy.

Energy Workshop

The final NHT-sponsored event was in Chicago, IL, where we partnered with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) and Elevate energy to host an Energy Workshop for affordable housing residents.

Attendees enjoyed refreshments while learning about Chicago’s energy and housing programs. The workshop included a presentation from NRDC on the National Housing Week of Action, Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA), and how energy efficiency related to the preservation of affordable housing. CUB discussed how to understand energy bills, how to spot bad energy suppliers, free and low-cost energy efficiency programs, and community solar. Finally, Elevate Energy presented on energy use and flow at home, their programs for making homes more efficient – including deep whole home retrofits – and details of how to get free energy audits through community meetings.

Participants engaged in Q&A throughout the workshop and attendees even stuck around to get more information and their individual questions answered. Everyone also received a free LED bulb.

Nation-wide, the Our Homes, Our Voices Week of Action was a success! This year’s Week of Action featured over 125 events and activities, more than doubling the number of actions taken in 2017.  There is no doubt that we are, together, building a movement.