NWLC Joins “Opportunity Starts at Home” to Raise Awareness of Housing Affordability Crisis
(Washington, D.C.) Today, the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) announced it has joined the Steering Committee of Opportunity Starts at Home, an unprecedented multi-sector campaign to advance federal policies that expand affordable housing for the lowest income people. Through Opportunity Starts at Home, leading national organizations from many sectors—education, health, civil rights, anti-hunger, poverty reduction, criminal justice reform, and more—are working shoulder-to-shoulder to raise awareness about the housing affordability crisis and push for bold federal solutions.
Gender equity in America demands access to safe, decent, and affordable housing in which women can thrive. The campaign’s federal policy agenda articulates a bold package of solutions that are necessary to solve the housing affordability crisis, and the National Women’s Law Center is eager to help push for congressional action.
Federal assistance helps millions of women and families access stable, affordable housing and is especially important for women of color, domestic violence survivors, LGBTQ women, families experiencing homelessness, children, and women with disabilities. But the need for aid far exceeds its availability. Today, only 1 out of 4 households who qualify for federal housing assistance will get the help they need due to chronic under-funding. Until Congress addresses the nation’s extreme shortage of affordable housing, the lowest income women will remain particularly vulnerable to housing instability, eviction, and even homelessness.
“Affordable housing is the linchpin for attaining the health, dignity, and safety of women and their families,” said Fatima Goss Graves, NWLC President and CEO. “This is why housing is a gender justice issue. When women face housing discrimination or are steered to low-opportunity areas or high-cost loans, it jeopardizes their families’ financial future and ability to build wealth. Without affordable housing, other basic needs—like access to good jobs and schools, high quality and affordable child care, and the availability of health foods—are beyond reach.”
As a Steering Committee member, the National Women’s Law Center will provide on-going strategic and tactical advice to the campaign, and work to mobilize its own network of advocates around federal policy actions that will expand housing affordability.
“We are extremely excited to have the National Women’s Law Center join the campaign’s Steering Committee,” said Mike Koprowski, National Director of the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign. “Access to safe, decent, affordable housing is absolutely fundamental to the well-being of women and families across the country. It is high time for Congress to tackle America’s housing affordability crisis.”
###
For immediate release: January 7, 2020
Contact: LySaundra Campbell ([email protected])
