What We Do
Advocate • Advance • Support • Educate • Influence
Public
Advocacy
We create the conditions that lead to the development of more affordable housing for Santa Cruz County Community members by:
Building out the initiative’s public presence and political power by representing a large, diverse set of community organizations, influencers, stakeholders, and leaders
Maintaining a steady presence and pressure at the local and State level to enact and support meaningful affordable housing policy
Organizing and mobilizing a critical mass of support when affordable projects and policies are on the agenda. Check out our Endorsements Page to submit a request for our endorsement.
Democratic Accountability
We support and hold elected officials accountable for creating more affordable housing in Santa Cruz County by:
Creating and disseminating elected official Affordable Housing Score Cards
Distributing and sharing the results of our candidate Affordable Housing Support questionnaire
Partnering with other Affordable Housing groups to host an Affordable Housing Election Forum
Maintaining regular contact and communication with elected officials to encourage support for affordable housing policies and projects, as well as encouraging the public to do the same. Take Action to support one of our endorsed projects.
Community Education
We increase public support and favorability
for housing:
Through robust community education and engagement programs
By providing data and information about effective housing policy solutions
Tracking and mapping Affordable Housing Projects in Santa Cruz County via our Affordable Housing Project Tracker.
Convening Affordable Housing Month events and activities. Check out our events page.
“It is hard to argue that housing is not a fundamental human need. Decent, affordable housing should be a basic right for everybody in this country. The reason is simple: without stable shelter, everything else falls apart.”
— Matthew Desmond, Evicted