Earlier this month, alongside nearly all of my EBHO colleagues, I had the privilege of attending the Housing California Conference in Sacramento for my first time.
Over the course of the three-day conference, I had the opportunity to hear from remarkable panelists and plenary speakers, housing advocates, policymakers, and community leaders from across the State. I attended some amazing discussions on how community ownership models can drive structural reforms and create thriving communities across California; as well as conversations that explored the potential of the housing justice movement if solutions were led by individuals with lived experience of housing insecurity and homelessness.
My highlight from this event was meeting several of our partners and organizational members in-person, including the team at Kit Switch, a new EBHO member who will be hosting an event during Affordable Housing Month. I also had the chance to connect with emerging housing justice leaders from other organizational members including Enterprise, MidPen Housing, and NPH.
I walked away from this year’s conference with valuable insights into the progress we’ve made in the housing justice movement and the work still ahead of us. I’m excited to apply this knowledge in my role as EBHO’s Membership Associate, from my approach deepening new member engagement to my outlook exploring cross-sector collaborations that will strengthen the impact of EBHO’s community outreach efforts.
Keep reading for more highlights from our time together at Housing California, with a special shoutout 🙌🏽 to our Resident Leaders for representing the voices of those most impacted by the policies and practices we fight for.
In solidarity,
— Lavender Briscoe, Membership Associate
Team EBHO at Housing California
Resident Voices at Housing California
Damion Scott and Davina Srioudom from EBHO’s Organizing Team led a delegation of six members of our Resident Community Organizing Program (RCOP) and Residents United Network (RUN) Bay Area to Sacramento to participate in the conference and Advocacy Day. RUN is a program of Housing California, with Damion serving as the Regional Organizing Coordinator (ROC) for the Bay Area chapter. Through our partnership with RUN, Bay Area leaders have taken powerful action to make sure that our State Representatives vote for affordable housing.
During Advocacy Day, residents and advocates of affordable housing met with their representatives about State Assembly and Senate housing bills. They spoke with twelve different elected officials and staffers about AB746, SB417, AB1229, and the proposed State Budget, bills dedicated to increasing funding and opportunities for affordable housing. RUN members also attended the Housing Justice Awards Dinner afterwards, which recognized leaders committed to a more equitable and just vision of affordable housing.
EBHO Board Member Cathy Eberhardt spoke about housing affordability at a rally to kickoff Advocacy Day. Our Board President William Goodwin also spoke at the Residents United Network Workshop, telling his story and explaining the importance of why resident voices must be centered in housing advocacy.
Reach out to Damion (damion@ebho.org) if you are interested in joining RUN!
