An affordable place to live is needed more than ever.
One year ago, San Diego Habitat for Humanity joined hundreds of Habitat for Humanity organizations across the country to launch our first national advocacy campaign: Cost of Home. Through the five-year campaign, we are mobilizing our local Habitat organizations, our partners, our volunteers, and community members across the country to find solutions and help create policies that will allow 10 million individuals to afford the cost of home.
Collectively we have helped improve access to home affordability for an estimated nearly 1.5 million people in our country through policy and systems change. Locally, we are pleased that the Homes for San Diegans campaign, a proposed bond measure for the November ballot that would provide $900M in funding for affordable housing, is moving forward. As we celebrate the progress we’ve made together, we know that despite the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, San Diegans recognize the need for housing stability and affordability in our region.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, more than 18 million families in the U.S. were already spending half or more of their income on housing. Now, with more than 40 million individuals filing for unemployment, the situation is likely much worse. Families are now facing additional economic hardship from lost wages or layoffs and are increasingly confronted with choosing between shelter and life’s other essentials.
That’s unacceptable.
Together, we can help make the #CostOfHome something we all can afford.
Thank you for your support.
