Project 1: The “County/City Partnership that funds the Department of Housing” project

Elevator pitch: When Eric was born, his mom should have been able to scan city hall’s website to find all sorts of housing support programs. She should have been able to see a clearly defined menu item called “Housing Options” right next to Police, Fire and Parks. It should not be buried deep in the bowels of the website, because it’s a vital stand-alone department (or should be) and deserves to be treated as such.

Why is this so important? After all, various local housing support programs are often funded in part by county entities, city entities, foundations, nonprofit organizations or multi-county coalitions. In smaller areas, nonprofits are the hub for all housing supports. We are not asking this proposed department to be in charge of putting all housing support in place. It should at the very least regularly evaluate the housing support needs of its constituents, determine if they are adequate and regularly research innovations. This job will look very different depending on the town: for example, it may just take a part-time city manager a few hours per year in the smallest of hamlets. But it’s important work, and it needs to be done by someone who reports to a person who regularly stands for election. Potential partners could include: mayors, city councilors, county commissioners, advocates for affordable housing, mental health professionals, public education professionals and socially-engaged housing industry leaders.