This episode explores a recent report published by Community Legal Services of Philadelphia (CLS) featuring Rasheedah Phillips, managing attorney of housing policy at CLS. Throughout the episode, Ms. Phillips discusses the report’s key findings, equitable solutions beyond the pandemic, research methods that center people with lived experience, guidance for organizations seeking to strengthen racial justice work, and using language to better capture racial inequities.

“When we look at the rate of evictions in Philadelphia and that those evicted most are Black people, we recognize that when speaking about housing instability and unaffordability we should frame these issues as race and gender issues,” says Ms. Phillips. “These issues connect back to redlining which still impacts Black communities today as we look at overall disinvestment and blight in these communities.”

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The episode explores the work of the campaign’s state-based affiliates in Ohio and features Gina Wilt, advocacy director at the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO).

Throughout the episode, Ms. Wilt discusses the housing crisis in Ohio, the opportunities and challenges of building multi-sector partnerships, best practices for organizations looking to build a multi-sector coalition, how COHHIO is advancing racial equity, and how COHHIO is leveraging multi-sector partnerships to advance more robust and equitable housing policies.

“I cannot underscore enough the importance of education and outreach in congressional meetings,” says Ms. Wilt. “And without having the diversity in COHHIO’s coalition partners to fully participate, I really don’t think it would be as successful.”

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In this episode, we discuss the work of the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign’s Racial Equity Working Group with Peggy Bailey, Vice President of Housing Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Throughout the episode, Ms. Bailey discusses the history of racism in housing policy, the first steps when organizations embark upon racial equity work, her major reflections and takeaways, the intersectional impact of correcting racial inequities in housing policy, and the value of applying an anti-racist framework to housing justice.

“There is a true commitment to race equity work and doing better in the housing space,” said Ms. Bailey. “Policies and practices have caused racial disparities, so intentionality and courage are needed to reverse and correct them.”

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In this episode, we talk with Dr. Myra Jones-Taylor, Chief Policy Officer at ZERO TO THREE, about the intersection of healthy early childhood development and housing stability. Dr. Jones-Taylor discusses the research around baby and toddler development, persistent racial disparities, effective best practices, the short- and long-term impacts of COVID-19, and why ZERO TO THREE is pushing Congress to invest in housing stability.

"Babies need a place to call home," said Dr. Jones-Taylor. "Safe, affordable housing is at the heart of healthy early development. I can’t think of anything that is more foundational to young children’s well-being. The experience of the pandemic has laid bare that our systems for supporting the health and well-being of families with young children are threadbare to practically non-existent. For us, it’s important that Congress hears from the baby perspective so we can make this connection for them."

ZERO TO THREE is a national nonprofit that works to ensure that all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life.

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This episode discusses the intersections between racial equity and housing with Amanda Andere, CEO of Funders Together to End Homelessness. Ms. Andere discusses the work of her organization, how racial inequities manifest in housing and homelessness, the history of housing discrimination, what it takes to achieve large-scale policy change, the common mistakes that organizations make in pursuing racial equity work, the importance of distinguishing between intent and impact, how the philanthropic community is increasingly committed to addressing structural and racial inequities, and why centering racial equity becomes even more important in crises such as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

"For us, racial equity is not just the absence of overt racial discrimination," said Ms. Andere. "It is also the presence of deliberate policies and practices that provide everyone with the support they need to improve their quality of lives."

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This episode discusses the intersections between the growing coronavirus pandemic, housing instability, and homelessness with Dr. Barbara DiPietro, senior director of policy at National Health Care for the Homeless Council.

Dr. DiPietro explains why those experiencing housing instability and homelessness are especially susceptible to the virus and what solutions should be implemented immediately to mitigate the harm.

“Our housing crisis is a public health issue,” said Dr. DiPietro. “People experiencing homelessness should be a priority population in our emergency response to the coronavirus.”

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This episode discusses how the housing affordability crisis impacts Latino households across the nation, featuring Agatha So, Senior Policy Analyst at UnidosUS. UnidosUS, formerly the National Council of La Raza, is the nation's largest Latino nonprofit advocacy and services organization and is a Steering Committee member of the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign.

Ms. So discusses recent findings from a UnidosUS report that interviewed 25 Latino renter households in New York City, Washington DC, San Francisco, Phoenix, Denver, Orlando, and Las Vegas. The overall findings demonstrate that the housing crisis is felt deeply by the Latino community. Ms. So also discusses the history of housing discrimination that shapes today's current landscape, as well as concrete policy actions that should be taken to solve the problem.

"Action is urgently needed," states Ms. So. "The lack of affordable rental housing has a significant impact on a family's economic security, feelings of safety in their neighborhood, their housing options, and their prospects of saving for the future."

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This episode features an array of elected officials, experts, advocates, and people with lived experience to discuss two major pieces of bipartisan housing legislation that were recently introduced in Congress. This is a live recording of a Congressional Briefing hosted by the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign in Washington D.C. on January 14, 2020.

The Eviction Crisis Act, introduced by Senators Bennet(D-CO) and Portman (R-OH), along with Senators Brown (D-OH) and Young (R-IN), would create a new Emergency Assistance Fund to provide direct financial assistance to help families remain stably housed during an unforeseen economic shock, such as a broken-down car or sudden medical bill.

The Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act, introduced by Senator Young (R-IN) and Van Hollen (D-MD), would create 500,000 new housing vouchers specifically designed to help families with young children access neighborhoods of opportunity with high-performing schools, strong job prospects, and other crucial resources.

Guests include: U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown; U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen; U.S. Senator Michael Bennet; Dr. Matthew Desmond, professor of sociology at Princeton University and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Evicted; Diane Yentel, CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition; Peggy Bailey, Vice President for Housing Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; Sarah Oppenheimer, Associate Director of Policy and Research at Opportunity Insights; Nan Roman, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness; and Jeffrey Williams, a tenant advocate from Richmond, Virginia.

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This episode focuses on the intersections of affordable housing and criminal justice reform. Two experts from the campaign’s multi-sector Steering Committee join the conversation: Mel Wilson, senior policy consultant for social justice and human rights at the National Association of Social Workers; and Dylan Hayre, senior policy advisor at JustLeadershipUSA.

In the episode, Mr. Wilson and Mr. Hayre discuss the scale of the nation’s mass incarceration crisis and the legacy of public policies that shaped it; how housing instability leads to encounters with the criminal legal system; how encounters with the criminal legal system, in turn, create major barriers to finding stable affordable housing; the importance of cross-sector work; and the necessary solutions.

“Housing is the foundation,” said Mr. Hayre. “It’s the building block from which a lot of other things can fall into place. For criminal justice folks, there’s an emerging recognition that we need to be intersectional in our approach.”

“There is an education that we need to do with our fellow reformers, explaining that we have to put energy around investment of funds towards housing,” said Mr. Wilson. “This has to get as much of a priority as some of the other issues that we’re dealing with in criminal justice reform.”

The National Association of Social Workers is the largest membership organization of professional social workers in the world, with more than 120,000 members. JustLeadershipUSA is one of the nation’s leading criminal justice reform advocacy organizations, dedicated to cutting the U.S. prison population in half by 2030.

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“Victims of domestic violence struggle to find permanent housing after fleeing abusive relationships. Many have left in the middle of the night with nothing but the clothes on their backs, and now must entirely rebuild their lives. As long-term housing options become scarcer, victims are staying longer in emergency domestic violence shelters. As a result, shelters are frequently full and must turn families away.” -- National Network to End Domestic Violence

In this episode, we talk about the intersections between affordable housing and domestic violence with two experts at the National Network to End Domestic Violence: Monica McLaughlin, Director of Public Policy; and Debbie Fox, Senior Housing Policy & Practice Specialist.

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