Dear EBHO Community,
EBHO’s Interfaith Communities United (ICU) program was founded in 2004 by Reverend Phil Lawson, and was later renamed Faith & Justice. Due to reduced budget and capacity, EBHO will formally sunset both the Faith & Justice program and its accompanying member committee at the end of 2025, while remaining committed to supporting faith-rooted work and individuals in the movement for housing justice. We thank and celebrate the legacy of all of EBHO’s Faith & Justice Program Directors and Organizers as we look to the future. EBHO expresses gratitude to: Rev. Phil Lawson, Rev. Sandhya Jha, Demitrius Burnett, Vanessa Riles, and Ronnie Boyd.
Under the leadership of founding Director Rev. Phil Lawson, EBHO’s faith program sought to bring diverse faith communities and leaders together to lift up the moral and faith-centered imperative that everyone have a safe, decent, affordable, and accessible place to call home–and the urgency of the fact that so many did not.
EBHO is proud of the legacy of its Faith & Justice program and Faith & Justice Committee, and remains committed to faith-rooted work in the years ahead. Keep reading for a look back at over twenty years of Faith & Justice advocacy and impact.
Happy Holidays,
— Rev. Sophia DeWitt, Chief Program Officer
Reflecting on the Impact of EBHO’s Faith & Justice Program
EBHO’s Faith & Justice Program aimed to involve faith communities in advocacy for affordable housing while allowing faith leaders to contribute the unique gifts of faith and spiritual traditions to the fight for housing justice, including moral authority and the resources of sacred texts and practices. Under Rev. Lawson, the program developed several areas of focus that remained key throughout the program’s life and during the leadership of subsequent Directors.
Education
Education was provided for faith communities and leaders on the nuts and bolts of advocacy, as well as the intricacies of affordable housing policy so that they could be effective advocates for affordable housing to local, regional and state policymakers. The Faith & Justice Committee also sponsored several events during Affordable Housing Month ranging from panel discussions, to affordable housing development fairs matching interested faith communities with potential developers. The Committee also hosted community meals with unhoused neighbors.
Encouragement
Drawing on the resources of sacred texts and practices, faith communities and leaders were reminded of the commandments of their traditions to work for justice and housing security for all. Our Housing Sabbath program encouraged faith leaders across the East Bay to devote a religious service during Affordable Housing Month to lifting up the importance of housing justice and reminding community members about the injunctions to justice in their faiths.
Fellowship and Inspiration
For more than 20 years, the Faith & Justice program presented EBHO’s annual Faith & Justice Breakfast, an opportunity for the EBHO community to come together for fellowship and inspiration to continue the fight for housing justice. Each year, the Faith & Justice Committee created a diverse and unique program that combined learning from keynote speakers or panels, music, fellowship, and food. Drawing between 75 and 150 people each year, thousands of people across the East Bay and over the years valued this signature event.
Policy Advocacy
In recent years, the Committee also took a larger role in State and Regional Policy advocacy. We were an active member of the state coalition pushing for the passage of SB 4 in 2023, a State bill that allows faith communities to build affordable housing on their properties by right. We also took an active role, along with the rest of EBHO, in pushing for the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) regional bond (RM4) and Proposition 5 to lower the approval threshold for affordable housing bonds.
We’d love to hear your stories and sentiments about EBHO’s Faith & Justice work! Please share your experiences at staff@ebho.org.