Affordable Housing Advocacy Training is open to all on March 31
Residents Organizing for Change will share experiences and tools
Bingen, Washington (March 17, 2022) - Everyone is welcome to join an online Advocacy Training session to learn how to better speak about Affordable Housing issues on Thursday, March 31, 2022, from 5-7 p.m. via zoom.
Community members from Oregon and Washington are all invited to attend. Event organizers will also record the session.
Members of Residents Organizing for Change (ROC) are people who have lived experience with housing instability. They participated in a 12-month fellowship centered around the Housing Justice Narrative, then applied the new skills in their local communities. They will share their research and personal stories.
“The Housing Justice Narrative gives us all easy-to-use tools to effectively communicate the importance of housing in our communities,” said Alison McIntosh, policy and communications director for Neighborhood Partnerships. “This training will be a fun and interactive way to learn about the research and give you tools to use in your everyday work.”
The training is the conclusion of the Affordable Housing Roundtable series that started in 2021, hosted by Mid-Columbia Housing Authority (MCHA), Mid-Columbia Community Action Council (MCCAC), and Washington Gorge Action Programs (WAGAP). Additional partners include Comunidades and Nch'i Wana Housing. These groups provide a voice to Latino and Native American neighbors.
The goal is to provide community members with tested messages to better speak about the importance of affordable housing with neighbors, community members, and elected officials.
“We have found very clearly that when we, as advocates, use our shared values to talk about the importance of why everyone in our community deserves a safe and stable home, we are able to have more effective conversations about the needs in our communities,” said McIntosh.
Advocates across Oregon and Washington have been using results from the Housing Justice Narrative thanks to the work of several national organizations that focus on building community power from the ground up. They have been developing community-level messages that directly address issues of race and class and the effects on access to housing.
“We are very excited to have important and recent national research teach us how to talk about affordable housing in a way that people will understand,” said Joel Madsen, executive director for MCHA. ‘And to learn from those with lived experience is an equitable and inclusive way to improve housing policy.’
McIntosh agrees. “When we speak with one voice, when we use the same messages, we have a greater chance of breaking through other noise and succeeding,” she said.
To participate in the affordable housing advocacy training on March 31, please email info@wagap.org to receive the link to join the session. WAGAP will record the session and post it online for anyone who cannot attend that evening.
# # #
Washington Gorge Action Programs (WAGAP) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit Community Action Agency that helps individuals, families, and communities. WAGAP addresses basic human needs, including food, shelter, energy assistance, and more, in Skamania and Klickitat Counties. For more than 50 years, WAGAP has helped people help themselves and reach self-sufficiency. Learn more at wagap.org, or contact WAGAP at (509) 493-2662 or info@wagap.org.