Our Work

EBHO’s Concord Committee advocates for affordable housing in the largest city in Contra Costa County as part of coalitions. EBHO has been advocating for affordable housing as part of the redevelopment process of the Concord Naval Weapons Station (CNWS) since 2007 and we meet regularly with developer Brookfield Properties to ensure that affordable housing development will be included in all phases of the project. We work as part of the Raise the Roof Coalition to support tenant rights in Concord; in 2019 the coalition supported local residents in forming the first city-wide tenants union, Todos Santos Tenants Union. We also advocate that the City of Concord use public land for public good, and advocate for city owned land to be used to expand affordable homes in the City. In 2024, we advocated for increased multifamily affordable housing in areas with high opportunities through the City of Concord’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Rezoning Process.

For more information on Concord 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 Angelina Cornejo at angelina@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 Faith & Justice Committee develops and maintains collaborative relationships with leading Bay Area interfaith and inter-religious organizations. work to educate, empower, and organize people of faith to take action to preserve, protect, and create affordable housing.  Additionally, the Faith and Justice Committee and its members seek to acknowledge and bring to light the intersectionality of the movement for housing justice and the shared struggles of workers, immigrants, people with disabilities and members of all marginalized and/or disenfranchised communities against systemic violence, and racial and economic injustice. We believe that we will win!

Formerly known as Interfaith Communities United, the faith-rooted organizing committee also organizes an interfaith breakfast in the Fall and Housing Sabbath during Affordable Housing Week. 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.

• We created an online Election Hub for our members and the general public to access voting and ballot measure resources as well as responses to candidate questionnaires. 
• We hosted two candidate forums so community members could learn about Alameda County and Oakland City Council candidate’s approaches to Houselessness, Housing, and Hunger.
• EBHO staff and members conducted numerous advocacy visits with state legislators; our incredible Residents United Network (RUN) team worked hard to support AB 653, which passed! Because of AB 653, Public Housing Authorities will receive deeper support from the State to offer effective rental assistance to tenants through Housing Choice Voucher programs, including housing search assistance and deposit resources to help tenants with vouchers find and secure homes in high opportunity neighborhoods.

EBHO staff, community leaders, and Residnet United Network (RUN) members at the Office of State Senator Nancy Skinner SD 09 (left), and meeting with Assemblymember Lori Wilson of AD 11 (right) in Sacramento.

• Regional Measure 4: EBHO was the lead organization in Alameda County and Contra Costa County for education and outreach for Regional Measure 4, a nine-county, $20 billion affordable housing bond. We worked with the Bay Area Housing for All Coalition, our members, and partners to get the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to place Regional Measure 4 on the November ballot. Although it was ultimately pulled from the ballot, we continue to be strong advocates for regional funding for affordable housing and champions of the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA).

Working with the Nonprofit Affordable Housing Association of Northern California (NPH) and the Begins with Home Campaign in 2024, we produced and released a new series of 10 videos to social media to engage and educate viewers about affordable housing. These videos received over six million combined views across TikTok and Instagram and strengthened coalition partnerships by amplifying each other’s work on social media. Our Lead Organizer, Damion Scott, even won Housing Narrative Lab’s Social Media Storytelling Award for his engaging TikTok, “Why Can’t Everyone in the Bay Area Have a Home?”. 

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, please contact Kiki Poe at kiki@ebho.org.