The Housing Alliance believes that the voices and input from people who have lived the problems of homelessness, housing insecurity, and / or poverty need to be centered in policy and program development. We seek to elevate these voices through “Community Conversations” and topic specific focus groups to create space and platforms for individuals from underrepresented communities to lead and actively participate in decision-making that affect their quality of life, housing, and health.
Listen & Act 4 Housing & Health
Listen & Act 4 Housing & Health
The Housing Alliance thanks the following organizations that hosted us to facilitate a Community Conversation with people with lived expertise to hear their stories and perspectives on barriers and solutions to the affordable housing crisis.
Act in Faith- West Chester
ACTION Housing Inc.
Allentown Housing Authority
Auberle
Beaver County CoC/HMIS
Bucks County Opportunity Council
Clinton County Housing Authority
Resources for Human Development
Community Youth and Women’s Alliance
Columbia Housing Authority
The Housing Alliance is partnering with the PA Health Access Network and its BeHeard BeHealthy PA initiative. The Housing Alliance’s Listen & Act 4 Housing & Health (LA4HH) civic engagement project will incorporate the voices of people with lived experience and expertise to make substantial positive changes in the rust belt, rural, and inner-ring suburb communities.
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LA4HH has four aims:
1. Engage local community members on strategies to create change in programs, their communities, and the Commonwealth;
2. Assist in the identifying policies and programs to reduce the barriers to quality housing;
3. Champion for policy initiatives at the state and federal levels;
4. Construct tools to help community members to engage elected officials and inform policies.
Annual Advocacy Days in Washington, DC and Harrisburg, PA
Advocacy Days are events in which people come together from across the state to educate their elected representatives and advocate for increasing housing resources, ending homelessness, and eradicating blight in Pennsylvania. We host Advocacy Days twice a year in Harrisburg and in Washington DC.
Home Matters Day takes place annually in the late spring in Harrisburg. For more details please visit our Home Matters Day Page.
Capitol Hill Day takes place in the early spring in Washington DC in partnership with the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
PA Votes
Voting is often the first step to greater civic participation. We need people who have lived the problem to provide input into the policies that are designed to help them.
PA Votes wants to share some important upcoming Primary Election information with you!
–May 1st is the last day to REGISTER before the primary. Click here to register to vote and check your voter registration status!
–May 9th is the last day to APPLY for a mail-in or absentee ballot. Click here to request your mail-in ballot.
–May 16th all Mail-in Ballots must be RECIEVED by 8:00 PM. To ensure your ballot is received by the deadline, return the ballot as soon as possible. You can mail or hand-deliver you ballot to your county election office or another officially designated site (Note: Postmarks are not enough) Learn more here to ensure your vote is counted!
–May 16th is PRIMARY ELECTION DAY! The Polls in PA will be open from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Find your polling place here. Click here to learn more about in-person voting!
Learn how to exercise your right to vote. Utilize and share this one stop shop for all things related to voting in Pennsylvania: See guide here.
Leading up to the 2022 Mid-Term Elections, the Housing Alliance worked with 15 organizations from across the state to close wide voter participation gaps through non-partisan voter engagement and education. With help from our national partner, Nonprofit VOTE, our sites registered nearly 1,000 new voters and helped thousands of new and seasoned voters pledge to have their voices be heard.
Thank you to our 2022 PAVotes Partners for your incredible work!
Allentown Housing Authority
Anthracite Region for Independent Living
Bradbury Sullivan LGBT Community Center
Catherine McAuley Center
Center for Independent Living South Central PA
Franklin County Coalition for Progress
HACE
HDC MidAtlantic
Hill District Consensus Group
Johnstown Housing Authority
League of Women Voters
Parkview Towers
SELF! Lehigh Valley
Uptown Partners of Pittsburgh
Westmorland Housing Authority
Through our partnership with Nonprofit Vote, we provided materials and resources to support these organizations in engaging the people they serve in voter registration. Check out the project materials here.
“It isn’t just about a person- it’s about housing, education, health, and securing the resources that give people a good quality of life”
-Center for Independent Living South Central PA
If you are interested in becoming a PA Votes partner for the next election cycle, please reach out to Jen Thomas at jennifer@housingalliancepa.org.
PA Votes 2022 Report Coming Soon
PA Votes 2020 Report
2020 Voter Registration and Engagement by 19 PA Votes Partner Sites Leads to Boosts in Voter Turnout
The video below features four of our 2020 community partners (Abilities in Motion in Berks County, HACE, Allentown Housing Authority in Lehigh County, and National Council of Negro Women Rankin/Mon Valley) sharing how they accomplished this feat amid a pandemic.