Advocacy Connections October 2022

Affordable housing and homelessness matter to many of us. Help be sure housing concerns have a place in the federal budget.  Many of us care deeply about housing concerns, personally and through our ministries. Today the NLIHC, in partnership with philanthropic organizations, housing providers, religious denominations and others, are making a push so phones ring and emails flood in,  urging lawmakers to pass a federal budget that includes needed increases to housing programs.     Use our Action Alert today, Oct. 12, to add your voice to the surge! Skyrocketing housing costs this year have made the prospect of staying securely in a home more challenging for many in our communities. Lack of available housing has become one of the main drivers of homelessness and has also significantly contributed to overall inflation in the last year. "This comes as many faith-based shelters and volunteer services report struggling to support the growing volume of needs in our communities," said Andrew Fuller, ELCA Program Director for Housing and Human Needs. "Many houses of worship and volunteers are exhausted and need support to address these crises." Why act now? Lawmakers are setting spending priorities for the coming year. Evidence-based programs to address housing issues should be a higher priority than ever. A temporary spending measure to fund the government until December 16 passed earlier this month, but it is just a stop-gap. Lawmakers must reconvene to pass a budget for the remainder of the federal fiscal year. Now, ahead of Election Day, is a critical time to contact your lawmakers and tell them that people of faith are concerned about the housing crisis impacting our communities.   Link here to Action Alert today to push for policy that will make a difference in people's lives. Remember, your own words and local experiences add strength to your message sent through the Action Center. Let?s make sure lawmakers make housing concerns a priority in the federal FY23 budget. Want to go further? Extra steps for taking action housing advocacy action are available in the new ELCA World Hunger housing resource and the Housed Fall & Winter 2022 Toolkit from NLIHC.