How HDC Supports the YES for Affordable Housing Campaign
Last weekend, HDC staff volunteered at a YES for Affordable Housing phone-banking event to urge voters to support Metro’s housing bond measure (measure 26-199) and state measure 102.
Earlier this month, our staff, board, and partners celebrated HDC’s 25th anniversary by raising over $27,000 for the YES for Affordable Housing campaign. Among the many nonprofits, businesses, and individuals who chipped in were event sponsors KeyBank, NOAH, LMC Construction, Colas Construction, Bremik Construction, PNC Real Estate, Umpqua Bank, Walsh Construction, Enterprise, WFG National Title Insurance, and Scott Edwards Architecture.
Why are so many people and organizations using their voices and dollars to support passage of these measures?
For me, it’s about giving affordable-housing providers what they need to make a real dent in our region’s housing crisis—a crisis that is hurting communities across our region and is disproportionately harming people of color.
Every day, my colleagues and I work with organizations that provide safe, affordable homes for people whose housing needs the market doesn’t meet.
Our partners are experts at effectively and cost-efficiently using available resources, primarily private investments, to do this work. They know what to do. They have the capacity to do it. But they don’t have the resources to address the housing crisis at its real scale.
On November 6, we can take a big step toward changing that equation.
If Measure 26-199 and Measure 102 both pass, $652.8 million in bond funds will be used to create an estimated 3,900 permanently affordable homes in our region. These homes will serve about 12,000 people at any time--and roughly 120,000 people over the properties’ useful lives.
That means fewer kids going to school after spending the night sleeping in cars. Fewer seniors scrimping on food and medication to pay the rent. Fewer families of color experiencing the root-shock of displacement. And more of our partners empowered to carry out their missions.
My HDC colleagues and I are supporting the YES for Affordable Housing campaign because we believe everyone in our region deserves a safe, affordable home—including kids, seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, and communities of color affected by gentrification and displacement. And we know that with the right resources, our partners can meet our region’s most pressing housing needs.
Here are some ways HDC and its staff and board are supporting the effort:
Donating money to the YES for Affordable Housing campaign.
Volunteering time to the YES for Affordable Housing campaign.
Using our networks to urge others to support the campaign.
Voting YES for measures 26-199 and 102.
If you haven’t donated or signed up to volunteer, there is still time—15 days!—to get involved. Learn how at https://www.yesforaffordablehousing.com.
See you at the phone banks, and remember to mail your ballot!