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I know you don't read this blog to learn about me... I think it's because I write about local issues - especially homelessness and housing - that you care about.
Still, sometimes there's overlap.
So... I will just tell you that I've been spotty in my blogging because I am working my butt off trying to get an important new organization off the ground. It's called Housing Santa Cruz County and it aims to mobilize overwhelming support for policies and projects that shall help us overcome our affordable housing crisis-- a crisis that is wrecking havoc on the lives of our friends and neighbors and families and people who provide vital services to our community.
Housing SCC is coming together nicely... building support and membership and gaining sponsorships from key organizations in our county.
(that's our new logo up there!)
Next week - Thursday, February 25 at 4 pm - we are publicly "launching" the organization with a Zoom and Facebook Live event. We have a few special guests... some local residents whose lives have been tremendously improved because of affordable housing plus State Controller Betty Yee and East Bay Housing Organization's Gloria Bruce. EBHO is a model for community engagement and advocacy that we hope to emulate here in SC County.
You can join us at the Housing SCC launch... and we'd love to have you with us.
Another thing about me... I am doing as much as ever on the persistent challenge of homelessness. But my work is shifting. Less focus on the Smart Solutions to Homelessness organization and more focus on:
- my membership on the governing board of the Homeless Action Partnership
- my active role as a returned board member of Housing Matters (the former Homeless Services Center that I helped start 30 years ago)
- co-hosting (with Housing Matters staff in the lead) a series of webinars on how folks can more involved in solving homelessness (very much in keeping with Smart Solutions) You can find out more about several different webinars here.
- starting an affordable housing advocacy organization (see above) because we will never make a serious run at substantially reducing homelessness if we don't have a lot more affordable rental housing
Soon I'll write more about this shift in homelessness work and the future of Smart Solutions. But that's for another time.
May we all have the vaccinations we desire.
Thanks, Don. Your long-term dedication gives me hope, as does the focus on creating more affordable rental housing. Someday I hope our community can be full of land trust housing so we won't be stuck with renting and our commodified housing market. But for now this is clearly essential.