Advocacy Coordinator
February was a busy month for advocacy at Habitat Metro Denver, as we had the opportunity to voice our support for housing affordability at the state and national levels. Read on for a recap and highlights from these recent advocacy efforts.
Each year, during the U.S. legislative session, Habitat for Humanity International hosts Habitat on the Hill, a gathering of 400+ Habitat affiliate representatives from across the nation.
The purpose of the conference is to meet with colleagues and federal legislators to advocate for affordable homeownership and policies that affect the entire continuum of housing affordability in our communities. Three representatives from Habitat Metro Denver attended this year. As part of our engagement, we presented a poster about our Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) program that is in partnership with the West Denver Renaissance Collaborative, which ended up being a very popular subject.
Learn more about our ADU work on this webpage.
During the conference, we also met with federal legislators and asked them to support an increase in several federal funding bills that support housing affordability. We asked our representatives to support the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) and Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP) for fiscal year 2025 appropriations. Both of these funds can be used by affiliates to acquire affordable land, support infrastructure, build new affordable homes, or repair housing stock in our communities. SHOP is the only HUD grant program that provides funding exclusively for homeownership projects serving low-income families. HOME provides formula grants to states and localities that are used in partnership with nonprofits like us to fund a wide range of affordable housing activities.
During our meetings with legislators, we also asked our representatives to support the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act (NHIA), a bipartisan bill that is being proposed in the 2024 legislative session. This would revitalize distressed neighborhoods by using federal tax credits to mobilize private investment to build and substantially rehabilitate homes for low-and moderate-income homeowners.
We had the opportunity to meet with staffers of Senator Michael Bennet, Senator John Hickenlooper, Congresswoman Diana DeGette, Congressman Ken Buck, Congressman Jason Crow and Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen and Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo. Our week in D.C. was a motivating and educational experience as we engaged these leaders in conversation about affordable homeownership!
Also in February, a group of team members from Habitat Metro Denver attended Habitat Colorado’s Coffee at the Capitol. We joined other Habitat for Humanity affiliates from across Colorado at the state capitol to advocate for legislation that will advance affordable homeownership. Our affiliate had meetings with eleven different state senators and representatives who represent the Denver Metro area.
We asked our senators and representatives for support on four different pieces of legislation. That legislation includes:
HB24-1083 Construction Professional Insurance Coverage Transparency
HB24-1152 Accessory Dwelling Units
SB24-106 Right to Remedy Construction Defects
HB24-1308 Effective Implementation of Affordable Housing Programs
We met with Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez and House Majority Leader Monica Duran as well as Senator Janet Buckner, Senator Chris Hansen, Senator Rachel Zenzinger, Representative Lindsey Daugherty, Representative Brianna Titone, Representative Iman Jodeh, Representative Tim Hernandez, and Representative Manny Rutinel. Below are some pictures from the day which include staff members and volunteers who represent Habitat Metro Denver.
Thank you to our partners and fellow advocates for your support and hard work, coming alongside us to advocate for affordable homeownership! We are grateful for the momentum that we can build when we work together.
To see more of our advocacy work in recent months, please visit the advocacy page of our website.
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