Our Work

EBHO’s Contra Costa Committee advocates for affordable housing across Contra Costa County. EBHO has been active in the redevelopment process of the Concord Naval Weapons Station (CNWS) since 2007 and recently helped secure $2.8 million for rental assistance programs across the County. We are also focused on our ongoing campaign to pass an Inclusionary Housing Ordinance in Antioch, and the work that lies ahead to secure homelessness prevention and response funds across the county and support innovative housing solutions in Richmond.

For more information on Contra Costa County organizing, contact Joey Flegel-Mishlove at joey@ebho.org.

EBHO’s Oakland Committee works on affordable housing policy advocacy campaigns and addresses critical issues including increasing funds for affordable housing. Our Oakland Committee informs our approach to advocacy in the city and works together to advocate for affordable housing in the areas of development and preservation, redevelopment, zoning and land use, specific planning processes, tenants rights, budgeting, and coalition building.

In 2024:

• We successfully advocated for an increase in the amount of Measure U bond funds available in 2024 for affordable housing development projects and for mechanisms to ensure the swift commitment of those funds consistent with a fair and equitable competitive process.
• With the long-awaited completion of a 5-year study of Oakland’s Impact Fees, we advocated for important changes to Oakland’s housing Impact fee program to make funds available sooner, require higher percentages of onsite affordable housing in lieu of paying the fee, and expand the Jobs/Housing fee to cover more commercial building types.
• After years of active participation in the Downtown Oakland Specific Plan process, the plan was adopted with the inclusion of a Zoning Incentive Program to encourage more affordable housing in the downtown area.

For more information, contact Jeff Levin at jeff@ebho.org.

The Policy Committee organizes members to impact regional issues to create affordable homes and just communities. The Regional Policy Committee informs our approach and works together to take action on statewide legislation, city housing elements, the implementation of Plan Bay Area, regional funding, and the intersection of housing and transportation. For more information or to get involved, contact Jeff Levin at jeff@ebho.org.

EBHO’s Berkeley Committee focuses on city-level policies and funding to shape development, preserve low-income housing, and protect tenants in Berkeley. Currently, the committee is working to shape affordable housing at the North Berkeley BART development, the Adeline corridor Project, and the disbursement of funds from past Affordable Housing Measures. To learn more about this committee or to get involved, please contact Sophia Dewitt at sophia@ebho.org.

EBHO’s Resident Organizing Program empowers affordable housing residents in Oakland and Berkeley to be affordable housing advocates engaged in EBHO’s campaigns and programs. RCOP Committee runs transformative leadership trainings and engages affordable housing residents in the policy and neighborhood decisions that affect them directly. If you are a resident of an Affordable Housing community who wants to get involved, please contact Damion Scott at damion@ebho.org.

Important Announcement: As of December 2025, EBHO has 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. Read more about this decision and the legacy of this program on our blog.

EBHO’s Faith & Justice Committee developed and maintained collaborative relationships with faith communities, faith leaders, and interfaith and inter-religious organizations throughout the Bay Area to advance our collective fight for housing justice. Committee members shared a belief in the intersectionality of the housing justice movement with the struggle against all systemic violence and racial and economic injustice.

• EBHO and our partners across Alameda County successfully advocated for the allocation of $1.8 billion of Measure W funds, including a historic investment of more than $1.4 billion to homelessness solutions. This is the largest commitment the County has ever made to address homelessness.
• EBHO and Contra Costa renters won a major victory in 2025. At their December 16th meeting, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors voted to allocate $2.8 million in surplus American Rescue Act Plan (ARPA) funds to maintain the County’s rental assistance programs.
• We tabled at over fifteen affordable housing sites, community events, and resource fairs.
• Of the 35 bills EBHO took a formal position on, most (19) did not pass or fail in 2025, but were set aside with the possibility of returning in 2026 as 2-Year Bills.

EBHO joined over 100 community members at a press conference with Restore Oakland, Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas, and Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, where we shared a collective vision for an Alameda County in which housing is truly seen as a human right.

• EBHO Staff and Resident Leaders participated in two major lobby days in Sacramento. In March, we joined other members of the Residents United Network (RUN) at the State Capitol to meet with legislators and urge them to support AB 1229 (reforming California’s adult re-entry grant program) and AB 736/SB 417 (Statewide Affordable Housing Bond bills).

Each May we participate in a region-wide Affordable Housing Month. Our series of educational events, community conversations, discussion panels, ground breakings, tours, and grand openings highlight the housing struggles facing our communities as well as what our members create in order to help solve those struggles. EBHO and our members sponsor events throughout the East Bay that reach thousands of residents, housing and service providers, advocates, local government staff and elected officials.

For more information on Affordable Housing Month, please contact Kate Young at kate@ebho.org.