Did you know that your zip code is one of the most important data points to predict individual and families’ success, from educational outcomes, health factors, and opportunity to thrive?
As Matthew Desmond wrote in “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City,”
“The home is the wellspring of personhood. It is where our identity takes root and blossoms, where as children, we imagine, play, and question, and as adolescents, we retreat and try. As we grow older, we hope to settle into a place to raise a family or pursue work. When we try to understand ourselves, we often begin by considering the kind of home in which we were raised.”
What Is Affordable Housing Month?
Affordable Housing Month is an opportunity to deepen your awareness of your neighbors’ experiences; grow your understanding of the foundational role that home plays in strengthening our individual, family, and community outcomes; and cultivate a commitment to ongoing learning. It means housing that you and your family can reasonably afford, while still having money left over for other necessities like food, transportation and health care.
During Affordable Housing Month, residents from all over the region come together to learn, engage, and add their voices to the conversation about how we strengthen our Bay Area neighborhoods. We are inviting residents to ponder as a collective community: What would it look like to actively welcome all our neighbors to live, work, play, and stay in our region? What would it take to create a space where everyone, no matter their background, is welcomed and valued?
Imagine: A community where everyone sees you as their neighbor and where we are all stronger together for it!
Every year during Affordable Housing Month, the Housing Leadership Council (HLC) engages hundreds of housing supporters around San Mateo County to collectively learn, mobilize, and understand the positive and extensive impact affordable housing brings. This year, they are having a series of in-person and virtual events, from an affordable housing infrastructure bike ride to a policy breakfast with elected officials.
Learn More About Affordable Housing
For more information about the Bay Area’s Affordable Housing Month celebration, you can also visit: www.affordablehousingmonth.org
For individuals and families in need of direct services and resources, we invite you to check out a list of Bay Area resources.
To support your explorations, enjoy these book suggestions provided by the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California in partnership with Affordable Housing Month conveners and organizers, opens a new window.
Add a comment to: Join us in Celebrating Affordable Housing Month!